When Freaks Fall
by W.Kazumi
Summary: Name: Itou Botan. Sex: Female. Age: 18. Additional info: Attends a high school for special kids with superpowers and weird personalities... wait, what?
1. Chapter 1: Nice to Meet You

**When Freaks Fall**

 **Summary: Name: Itou Botan. Sex: Female. Age: 18. Additional info: Attends a high school for special kids with superpowers and weird personalities... wait, what?**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own YYH.**

 **Chapter 1: Nice to Meet You**

My name is Itou Botan. I'm eighteen, a high school student. I have sky blue hair, and jewel-like purple eyes. Although it's weird, I have the ability to see ghosts and fly in mid air.

In other words, I'm a freak.

I don't have any friends, and I'm single, haven't dated a guy even once. That's to be expected. I mean, people avoid me like I'm some sort of virus or something. I know they hate me, and I know they fear me.

Well, whatever. I'm practically used to it by now.

But now I find myself in a really odd predicament.

You see, because of my 'special powers', I've been causing havoc wherever I go. Not intentionally, of course, but difficult situations could've never been avoided before. So now I find myself expelled from my old school, and for some reason, I'm now supposed to attend a school for weirdos. A school named Meikuo Gakuen.

Not that surprising.

* * *

"Shush, people, shush!" I hear the teacher say from the other side of the door. Her voice sounds slightly muffled in the midst of the screaming and talking going around in the classroom.

I play with my skirt, while waiting for the class to pipe down. Then, after a few moments, everyone finally falls silent. The teacher opens the door then; by now, my hands have stopped fiddling with my skirt.

"You can come in now," my homeroom teacher, a woman with brown hair tied in a messy bun, says with a friendly smile.

I return the smile, before nodding. "Yes," I say, and after taking a deep breath to calm down my nerves, I enter the class.

When the students see the unfamiliar faces, the once quiet class starts to erupt in whispers and questions of who I am.

"How many times have I told you to be quiet?" the teacher practically yells, and the whole class is silent in mere moments. She fixes a glare on everyone in class, silently warning them not to talk again or else. When she sees that all attention is focused on her (and me, included), she clears her throat, and extends a hand at my direction.

"This is Itou Botan. She will be joining us from today. I hope you all be friendly with her, she's just transferred here under a few... uh, circumstances."

The teacher turns to me, giving me a warm and reassuring smile, as if saying 'Go!'

I nod in return, before turning my head to peer at each of my classmates' faces. "Um... I'm Itou Botan, it's nice to meet you. I hope we can get along," I say in a soft voice, the nervousness causing me to speak slowly.

With that, I walk towards the blackboard, and grab a chalk, before proceeding to write my name in kanji. "I... tou... Bo... tan..." I utter under my breath as I write the characters, something I do a lot.

I put the chalk down, before turning around to bow at my new classmates. They're all giving me weird looks now; some snicker, some blink, and others whisper and continue to scrutinize me up and down.

The teacher nods at the introduction, and then, points her index finger at a seat behind a redhead boy. I notice he's staring at me, his emerald eyes searching mine, as if he's trying to investigate something. I inwardly frown at this, but then shake my head and dismiss it as my imagination. Supposing that's my seat, I start sauntering towards the desk that the teacher had pointed.

But just as I'm two tables away from my seat, I TRIPPED. Or more like, someone tripped me. I close my eyes, awaiting for that moment when I would get a mouth full of dirt... but then I feel myself clashing against someone's body instead. I feel hands wrapping protectively around my waist, and I hear a masculine chuckle, almost amused.

I hesitate, but then I open my eyes slowly. I blink when I see someone's chest instead, and then, continue to look up to see who had rescued me from falling. I see the redhead's face; there's a touch of mirth in his eyes, his lips pulled up in a smirk.

"Are you okay?" he asks, and for some reason, tightens his hold around my waist.

Blood immediately rushes to my cheek, turning my face red in embarrassment. I quickly pull away from him, he voluntarily lets me go. "I-I'm okay," I mumble timidly, looking away from his scrutinizing gaze and his teasing grin.

"Sorry about that," I hear another voice say, and I avert my gaze to the owner, only to see a black-haired boy, his hair pulled up with a gel, and his brown eyes glimmering as he gives me a smirk. "Was only trying to take a sneak peek of your panties."

My face turns redder, in embarrassment and anger at his words. I make to give him a piece of my mind, opening my mouth, before closing it again as I realize this is just my first day and that I shouldn't be doing anything reckless. Instead, I huff and turn away and proceed to walk to my seat, all the while muttering, "Asshole," under my breath.

Then, I realize the redhead had heard, as I hear him let out another chuckle. My blush deepens, but I pretend not to notice his amused stare, as I take a seat on my new chair.

I place my bag beside my table, and when I look up, I notice the redhead still staring at me. "What?" I ask, my brows creasing in confusion. Why is he staring at me?

"Nothing," he replies almost immediately. His mouth then forms a grin, almost mocking but I'm not entirely sure about that. "Just that, shouldn't you be telling me thank you for saving you just now?"

My eyes widen, and a pink color tints my cheeks at his words. "Uh... sorry. Thank you," I say as I look away, avoiding his gaze and peering at my feet instead of his face.

"You're welcome," he answers curtly, but I catch a slight amusement lying dormant in the tone of his voice. I choose to ignore it and gives him a slight nod of my head.

"Now, kids, don't bully her. She's new, and that's not nice," the teacher chimes in, her voice in dismay at her students' behavior. With that, she turns to look at the boy who had tripped me and sends him a heated glare. "Urameshi Yusuke, anymore weird antics from you and I'm sending you to the principal's office."

Yusuke rolls his eyes in annoyance, and grumbles something under his breath, but doesn't really oppose her. Instead, he puts an arm on his desk, places his chin on his palm, and proceeds to stare outside class.

'Serves you right!' my mind roars in victory, pleased that he got his payback for pulling that trick on me awhile ago. The corners of my lips curl upwards to form a grin, before I turn to look ahead to avert my gaze at the teacher as she starts to speak.

* * *

Just as the teacher exits, the whole class starts to being noisy and loud again. I roll my eyes in irritation at this, all the noise bothering me. But then, some students come walking towards me; most of them being girls. And before I can ask them what they want, they start to ask me a lot of questions.

"Hey, Botan-chan, why did you transfer here?" a brunette asks.

"Yeah, did you cause trouble at your old school or something?" another girl questions, this time a brown-haired one with a smoke in her hand. Is students allowed to smoke here or something? "I mean, this school is a place for troublemakers, after all..."

"Forget that! Where did you come from?" a carrot-top asks, his voice bordering on flirting as he speaks with me. I almost laugh at this.

"Shut up, Kuwabara. Don't you have Yukina already? What are you doing, flirting with the newbie anyway?" the brunette from before inquires in a slight annoyed tone, giving him a punch at his shoulder. He grins in return, and scratches his head.

"Sorry."

"What are your hobbies?" a green-haired girl suddenly says, her voice timid but friendly at the same time.

"When's your birthday?"

"What's your height?"

"How about your weight?"

"Where do you live?"

I open and close my mouth to answer, but I don't manage as they all start talking simultaneously, making me dizzy. My head starts to hurt from all the questions, and I go to tell them to quiet down, but then a voice cuts me off before a word escapes my lips.

"Slow down, guys. Ask her one question at a time, poor girl's getting confused," the guy that tripped me from before pipes in, sauntering over my desk. He looks down, and instead of frowning when he sees the heated stare I give him, he sends me a grin, almost child-like, as he goes on, "Really sorry from before, I was only joking."

"Yeah, well. Your joke crossed the line," the brunette reprimands him, shaking her head in disapproval.

"Oh come on, Keiko, it was a joke! It wasn't meant to hurt anyone... Are you jealous?" Yusuke inquires, with a slightly hopeful edge in his voice, his grin widening ever so slightly.

Keiko blushes beet red in embarrassment (?) and cries out, "What? No way!" and crosses her arms, looking away.

For some reason, the two then starts to engage in an argument.

My brows furrow in bewilderment as I stare at Yusuke and Keiko back and forth, confused as to what's going on.

"Don't mind them, they're always like that," a familiar voice reaches my ears, snapping me out of my musings. I lift my head to see the redhead from before looking back, a smile plastered on his face. "I'm Minamino Shuichi, by the way, but my friends call me Kurama."

I raise an eyebrow his way. "Kurama?"

"Yeah, it's sort of a nickname. It used to be my brother's name, and I was pretty close with him, so people keep calling me that," he answers, before breaking into a laugh, "I don't know why though."

I blink, before frowning when I realize that he used the past tense whenever he spoke of his brother. I open my mouth to ask him why, but then, he adds, with a tilt of his head, his voice tinted in curiosity, "More importantly, why are you here? I mean, you must have some specialty, right... being able to come here and all."

"Oh," I say, and make a mental note to ask him later. "Well, I, uh... how do I say this..." That's when I notice all eyes are on me, making me even more nervous. "Uh... I was kicked out of school because I can see ghosts... and not to mention, I, um... I can fly..." I answer slowly, not entirely sure how to explain to them without it sounding too weird, but then I'm reminded that this school is full with weird kids, so... maybe they wouldn't think it's _that_ odd.

Everyone is silent for a moment, before... they burst into a howl of laughter.

I blink, looking at them back and forth, confused at their reaction. What? What's so funny? I ponder, a frown coming to rest on my forehead as their laughter grows louder.

"D-did I say something hilarious...?" I ask after a few moments of waiting for them to stop laughing (they didn't).

Fortunately, the laughter soon dies down as I inquire this. Keiko is the first one to speak. "Sorry, it's just that... you got expelled because of that? How did that happen?"

"Um... the teachers and students were scared of me, so..."

"So they got rid of you?" Yusuke guesses, arching an eyebrow at me.

I bit my lip, before nodding my head in response. "Y-Yeah..."

Kuwabara shakes his head, and bites his lips, seeming as if he's trying to hold back his laughter. "Man, people are weird..."

"Well, it's pretty much the same for all of us anyway, right?" Kurama points out, and earns a few hums of agreement in return.

"Anyway..." Keiko starts, her pink lips pulled up to form a smile as she turns to look at me. "My name is Yukimura Keiko. You can call me Keiko-chan. It's nice to meet you," she introduces herself, extending a hand in meeting.

I can't help but return her smile, and accept her hand into mine, shaking it as I say back, "It's nice to meet you too... Keiko-chan."

She squeals in a way only girls would manage to pull, as if she's overjoyed by the fact that me, the new kid, just called her with the honorifics 'chan'. My smile evidently widens at this.

"I'm Jaganshi Yukina," the green-haired girl pipes in with her soft voice. She gives me a polite smile, as she adds, "I have the power to create ice with my bare hands. People think I'm the exact opposite of my brother, Hiei, who can make fire."

"Oh, you have a brother?"

"Yes, twin brother to be exact."

"Where is he?" I question, as I peer around the class, looking to see if there's someone who looks just like Yukina. But I don't see anyone like that, and can't help but frown.

Yukina seems to notice this, a giggle erupting from her throat. "He normally skips class, that's why you haven't seen him. We're not really that identical, he looks kinda different than me. His hair color, that is."

"Oh," I say, my mouth forming an 'o' as I nod in understanding. "So when can I meet him?"

Yukina puts a finger under her chin and appears to look thoughtful as she averts her eyes to the right. "Hmm... I'm not sure," she replies in an uncertain voice. But then, she perks up, her mouth forming a bright grin as she adds, "But I'll make sure to introduce him to you, okay?"

I nod once again. "Yeah!"

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you," Keiko interrupts, wearing a big grin on her face. "What's special about me is that I'm a genius. I don't really have any super powers or anything, but I have a really smart brain, so most people hate me, which is why I got expelled."

"They expelled you for being smart?" I ask, the smile that had been on my face now pulled down to form a frown. "That's stupid..."

"Well, it wasn't technically the school's fault," Keiko says with a shrug, "The kids there were kind of envious of me, so yeah... they framed me, and a lot of misundertandings occured, and that's why I'm here," she goes on, her story making me feel sorry for her.

Keiko notices the sympathetic expression on my features, and gives me a smile of reassurance. "Don't worry about it. It was worth it, you know. I mean, I got to meet all kinds of wonderful people and now I can actually say proudly that I have real friends."

The others smile at her words, nodding their heads.

Yusuke pats Keiko's head, causing the brunette to look up and give him a questioning gaze. He smiles at her, and then, the confused look on Keiko's face soon disappears, as she smiles back. Yusuke then turns to look at me, giving me an ear to ear grin.

"The name's Urameshi Yusuke," he says casually, and points his thumb at himself. "I can shoot guns out of my finger, I call it 'Spirit Gun' by the way... but I got kicked out of school because I was always picking fights."

"That, and you're always shooting your 'Spirit Gun' here and there," Kuwabara suddenly states, making the (") sign as he says the words 'Spirit Gun'. This earns a glare from Yusuke in return, which doesn't go unnoticed by the carrot-top, but he proceeds to ignore it anyway and averts his attention to me. "I'm Kuwabara Kazuma, I'm pretty much the same as Yusuke, except I can create a sword, which I call 'Spirit Sword'."

"Which you copied from my 'Spirit Gun', copycat," Yusuke butts in.

"I did not!"

"You so did!"

The duo suddenly start to have a fist-fight, all the while screaming 'I did not!' and 'You so did!' the entire time. I burst into a fit of giggles as I watch them, their fighting causing desks and chairs to be thrown all over the place, and the other students to move aside to cheer for them.

"Ignore those idiots," Keiko says to me.

I laugh. "Okay, sure."

"I'm Kuwabara Shizuru. As you can tell by the name, I'm related to that doofus over there," Shizuru says, pointing her thumb at Kuwabara who is getting beat up by Yusuke, if I might add. "He's my brother. I got held back a grade, so now I'm forced to be in the same class as him."

"You don't look like siblings," I reply, my mouth forming a smile.

Shizuru bursts into a burst of laughter at my words. "Yeah, I get that a lot," she tells me, before continuing to smoke. "Like you, I have a sixth sense and can see ghosts."

Her words take me by surprise and my eyes widen into saucers. She can see ghosts as well! And just when I thought there was no one else who could... "Really?" I ask, to make sure that I heard it right and to confirm that she's not pulling my leg.

She gives me a nod of her head. "Yeah, and I know how hard it can be sometimes, so... don't worry about it. There's nothing wrong with being able to have a sixth sense, you know. You can actually consider it as a gift from god or something."

My brows form a crease. "Really? I thought it was a curse..." I mumble under my breath.

A laugh erupts from her throat. "Yeah, really." Upon seeing the unconvinced stare I give her, she gives me a smile of reassurance and adds, "Trust me. You'll understand one day."

The frown on my forehead deepens, as he words brings me more confusion. I open my mouth to question her of what she meant by that, but I'm cut off by Yusuke who interrupts before I can get another word out of my mouth.

"So wait, you can fly?" he asks, excitement now evident in the tone of his voice. I peer at him and see the same excitement in his big, brown eyes. "Can you show us?"

"Oh yeah!" Kuwabara chimes in. "I wanna see that as well!"

"W-well..." I make to decline, and they see this, and quickly try to make me change my mind. They lean in closer to my face, pulling the cutest puppy face they could manage.

"Please?" they practically beg.

I pause, staring at their faces. After a few moments, I heave a sigh, and fling my arms in the air in defeat. "Alright," I finally relent, complying to their requests. Kuwabara and Yusuke roar, 'Oh yeah!' as they finally got me to agree.

I smile slightly at this, and shake my head in amusement as they proceed to jump up and down, like a bunch of kids. I close my eyes then and block all the noise coming from my classmates; trying to concentrate. Then... slowly, but gradually, I feel my body lift up from the chair, and fly higher, and higher... I hear sounds of amazement from my friends, but I don't open my eyes immediately. I heave a sigh, before opening my eyes slowly. I blink a few times to clear away the blurriness, and when I can see clearly, I look down to see everyone staring up at me with their mouths agape.

"That's amazing, Botan-chan!"

"Whoo, you rock!"

I begin to hear my classmates complimenting my abilities. A smile form on my lips as this is the first time anyone's actually amazed by my flying skills. People in my former life used to give me weird looks whenever I flew; back then, I wasn't sure how to control my powers, so my body would lift up from the ground from time to time before I'd realize what was going on. 'Guess I was at the wrong place, after all...' I think to myself, the smile on my lips broadening ever so slightly as I begin to wonder maybe this school isn't so bad.

But then...

"Oh yeah! I can see her underwear!" roars one of my obnoxious classmates, causing me to blush, my face turning deep red, as I realize that I was wearing a skirt. By now, all my male classmates are practically running to see my panties, so I hastily land on the ground. When I feel my feet attached to the floor, I let out a sigh of relief, trying to ignore the complaints I earned from my classmates as I did so.

"Perverts," Keiko mutter under her breath, glaring daggers at each of the boys in class. She then turns to Yusuke and Kuwabara who both have a pink tint coloring their cheeks. "You guys saw, didn't you?"

"N-no..." they deny, albeit they don't sound that convincing.

Blood immediately rushes to my cheeks, as I realize they had just saw my underwear. My underwear, for God's sake! Things couldn't get more embarrassing...

Yusuke and Kuwabara notices my red face. "Sorry," both quickly and simultaneously apologize.

I give them a small smile. "It's okay. It's partly my fault anyway," I respond, before taking my seat. A few moments of silence pass, but then, Keiko breaks it off.

"That was really amazing, you know, Botan-chan," she says, and suddenly grabs my hand. "I wish I could fly!" she whines, causing me to laugh.

"Yeah, you're really awesome," Shizuru agrees.

"That was the first time I ever saw someone flew," Yukina adds, with a hint of awe in her voice.

"Yeah," Yusuke says, nodding his head in agreement, "Thanks for willingly showing that to us."

"Whoa, Urameshi. You saying thanks? That's a first," Kuwabara teases, faking a look of surprise to annoy Yusuke.

This earns him a punch from the brown-eyed boy in return, which gradually and not surprisingly, escalates into a full blown fist-fight... again.

I pay those two no mind, and avert my gaze to Kurama, who had been quiet all this time. "Anyway, Kurama-kun... I didn't quite catch what your specialy is, mind telling me?"

Kurama blinks at me for a few times, before the corners of his lips curl up into a grin, and he sounds almost prideful as he says, "Well, I can control plants, you see. And like Keiko, I'm pretty smart, too, I guess."

"You can control plants?"

"Yeah."

"That's amazing! I would like to see you do that sometime."

My hands fly to my mouth as I realize how excited I sounded. A blush creeps up my cheeks in embarrassment when Kurama lets out a chuckle.

"Sure, Botan-san," he responds, his grin widening ever so slightly. The blush disappears from my cheeks as I return his grin with one of my own.

"There's actually one more special thing about Kurama," Yusuke's voice suddenly chimes in, and I turn to give him a questioning look, noticing Kuwabara who's lying face down on the ground but paying him no mind. "You can't make him sneeze," he adds, his mouth forming a secretive grin. He averts his gaze to Kurama then, wriggling his eyebrows.

I frown in bewilderment at Yusuke's word. Can't make him sneeze? Why? And how could people avoid sneezing? That's not normal! I turn to peer at Kurama with a look of curiosity, expecting an explanation, but instead of giving me one, he shakes his head.

"I don't want to talk about it."

My frown deepens at his response, wondering what that meant. But... if he doesn't want to talk about it, it's not like I can force him either. So, I keep my mouth shut, and nod my head in an understanding way, despite not really compreheding what he's talking about.

He seems to notice that I don't understand, but he sends me an appreciative look, as if he's grateful for me not asking him anything and prodding further into the matter.

"Well, you'll know sooner or later, so it doesn't really matter if he doesn't want to tell you," Shizuru exclaimes, and Kurama heave a sigh at this, but he doesn't say anything else.

But then, he suddenly gives me a weird look. His emerald eyes glinting, and his lips wearing a smirk, as he stares at me. Our eyes meet, and I arch an eyebrow at him, curious as to what's on his mind.

"What?" I inquire.

His head shakes slightly, a chuckle building in his chest and escaping his lips as he answers, "Nothing. You just looked great earlier."

I blink in confusion for a few moments, before realizing he was referring to when I demonstrated my flying skills.

I blush for the umpteenth time that day.

* * *

I follow behind Kurama as we walk, my eyes staring at his back as memories of the conversation in class comes flooding my head.

/Flashback/

" _Anyway, Botan-chan," Keiko calls my name, and I avert my gaze to her face. "Who's your roommate?"_

 _My eyebrows furrow at her question, my expression turning to one full of confusion. I tilt my head to the side, wondering what she means. "Roommate?"_

" _Yeah," she says, and after a pause, "You don't know, do you?" she asks._

" _Know what?" I ask back._

" _The teacher probably forgot to tell her," Kurama states, before Keiko can say anything._

" _Man, you really can't rely on the teachers of this school..." I hear Shizuru mutter under her breath, and see her shakes her head in disapproval._

" _You're one to talk, sis," Kuwabara makes a comment, to which the brown-haired girl throws her right shoe. It hits him right on the face, and he yells out a 'Hey!' but Shizuru decides not to pay attention to him, even as he starts insulting her._

" _At this school, every student is supposed to stay at dorms. It's kinda compulsory," she explains._

" _Oh," I say, my mouth forming an 'o' as I finally understand. "No wonder my mom and dad told me to pack my stuff."_

 _Keiko and Shizuru slap a hand to their foreheads, groaning at my ignorance, as I grin sheepishly, scratching the back of my head._

" _So did you?" Yukina inquires, deciding to join in the conversation._

" _Not really... I mean, I thought it was kinda bothersome."_

" _Well, that's okay. This school gives us special treatment since we're special kids, so in case a student doesn't bring her personal things with her, they already prepared it beforehand. All you have to do is go to the office to ask for clothes, and stuff, and you're done," Yusuke explains, reassuring me that I'll be fine, even without my things._

 _My eyebrows move up in surprise. "Really? Wow..."_

" _But you should go to the warden's office, you know. Ask her who's your roommate, or else you'll be in big trouble if the headmistress finds out you don't even know what room you're in," Keiko warns._

" _Yeah, she's really strict. It doesn't matter whether you're a new student or not, trust me, you won't be an exception to her," Shizuru adds._

 _I frown. "But, I don't even know where the warden's office is..."_

 _Kurama stands up from his seat then, and whips around to look at me. "I can go with you if you want," he offers, giving me a smile._

 _My face immediately brightens up at his words._

" _Yeah, let's go together!"_

/End of Flashback/

As soon as class ended, me and Kurama went to the warden's office. But when we reached the warden's office, she had told us the rooms were all full in the girls' dorms, causing me to be in a bind. That was when she said I should room with Kurama in the meantime as he didn't have a roommate, and since I knew him as she tries to look for any empty rooms, just in case she missed anything.

' _Don't worry, Kurama's a perfect gentleman,_ ' the warden's words echoes in my mind, but that's not really what I'm worried about. Gentleman or not, it's embarrassing to be in the same room as a boy, goddammit! Not to mention, an attractive one at that...

A red color begins to taint my cheeks as I realize I just admitted that. Well, who wouldn't think so? With that fiery red hair of his, those beautiful emerald eyes, and that smile that could make any girl swoon... Okay, stop. Get a grip, Botan.

I shake my head to get rid of the thoughts of his handsome-ness.

'Well, might as well just deal with it... not like I can do anything about it,' I think to myself, as I try to persuade myself to accept the fact that I'm now Kurama's roommate.

But...

Kurama suddenly stops in his tracks, causing me to stop walking as well. I make to ask him what's wrong, only to stop myself when I realize that we're already standing in front of his room.

Room '219', it says on a wooden board attached to the door. Under it, I can see the name 'Minamino', Kurama's surname.

"Is this your room?" I question, in spite of already knowing the answer. I bite my lower lip as I realize I must've sounded stupid asking that question, what's with the name on the door and all...

Fortunately for me, Kurama doesn't tell me I'm being stupid or anything; instead, the corners of his mouth curled upwards into an amused smile, touching his emerald orbs with mirth as he answers, "Yes, it is, Botan-san."

He then grabs the doorknob in his hand, turns it, and opens the door, revealing the nice scent of roses. It takes me a moment to notice that this is the same scent Kurama always carries with him.

Kurama enters the room, and I watch as he starts to loosen his tie. He throws it on his bed, and I avert my gaze to the other bed, which is mine, situated at the other side of the room.

"What are you just standing there for?" Kurama teases, snapping me out of my thoughts. I turn to peer at him, my eyes blinking as I stare stupidly at him for a few moments until he adds, "Please, come in."

"E-eh?" come my stupid response. It takes me a moment, and I hesitate, but I finally enter the room. I reluctantly sit on the bed, looking at everywhere in the room except Kurama's face.

The redhead seems to notice my nervousness and he laughes at this. "Relax, Botan-san," he says in reassurance, his voice making my heart thump against my chest very, very loudly. "I won't do anything."

"R-right..." I don't mean to stutter, but I did. A blush comes creeping up my cheeks, as I realize how stupid I must seem to him.

His laughter grows louder and I can practically feel his emerald eyes on me. Fortunately for me, he stops laughing, and I inwardly heave a sigh of relief, as the thumping of my heart gradually slows down.

"I'm going to take a bath," he tells me, and I don't look up until I hear him open the door to the bathroom. That's when I lift my gaze to see his bare back facing me, a towel placed around his shoulders.

The red on my cheeks deepens at the sight, and I quickly avert my gaze to the floor. I wait until I hear him close the door to finally stop peering at the floor. I hear the sound of the shower running, and heave a sigh, before removing myself from the bed.

I scrutinize the room, noting how neat it is. I walk over towards a desk, leaning in to read the titles of the books situated on it. Then, after a while, I got bored of just staring at the book covers, and I make to sit back on my bed, when I notice a picture frame hanging on the wall beside the bathroom.

I saunter towards it, trying not to pay attention to the sounds coming from the shower. I stare at the black haired woman in the picture; she's carrying a small redheaded kid in her hands who I can only guess as Shuichi. This is his mother, I presume?

I keep staring, unable to get over how beautiful she looks.

No wonder Kurama's so good-looking. With a mother like that, he was bound to come out looking like a prince. I let out a small giggle at the thought, shaking my head.

Just as I was about to stop gazing at the picture, the door to the bathroom suddenly slides open and out pops Kurama, his red hair wet, drops of water trickling down his body and onto the floor as he stares at me.

I stare back.

For a few moments...

Until I realize he's wearing nothing but a towel to cover his... uh, ahem, his _private_ parts.

Blood rushes to my cheeks, and I swiftly turn around. "S-sorry, I-I was..." I begin to stammer out excuses, trying to tell him that I wasn't trying to peek or anything. That's when I hear him chuckle, as if he's amused by my ramblings, and I ask, "W-what's funny?"

"You are, Botan," Kurama replies, his voice teasing. "It's okay, really. I know you're not a peeping tom. There's no need to apologize so much."

At his words, I whip around, momentarily forgetting that he was half-naked, and failing to notice that my hair had slapped him across the face. "No, it's not okay, Ku—'

Before I manage to finish, a sneeze sounds throughout the room.

I watch as Kurama rubs a hand on his face, and after realizing that my hair had tickled his nose, causing him to sneeze, I make to apologize for my mistake.

"Kurama, I—"

I'm cut off again, but this time, it wasn't by a sneeze, but by the feeling of one strong arm wrapping around my waist. Before I could comprehend what's happening, the arm around my waist pulls me close, until I could feel the contours of Kurama's body pressing up against me. I don't manage to think how muscly he is, as I feel a pair of lips touching mine, kissing me... Kurama's... kissing... me...

What the hell is going on?!


	2. Chapter 2: Not So Normal

**When Freaks Fall**

 **Summary: Name: Itou Botan. Sex: Female. Age: 18. Additional info: Attends a high school for special kids with superpowers and weird personalities... wait, what?**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own YYH.**

 **Chapter 2: Not so Normal**

I place my hands firmly against Kurama's chest, trying to ignore his muscles, as I attempt to push him away. My efforts are unsuccessful however, as Kurama proves to be too strong for me to push. "Stop—" I try to say the moment he breaks off the kiss, but he silences me with another. He bites my lip, trying to get me to open my mouth but I decline. My mind keep screaming 'No!' but nothing could come out my mouth, what's with his lips muffling any sound I make.

He pulls away, and I raise my hand to slap him across the face, but he stops me by grasping my wrist. I blink in surprise, but the shock soon dies down, and I try to hit him again with my other hand, only for him to grab that one also. My eyes start to water, as he pushes me onto his bed, and proceeds to crush his lips against mine. I'm yelling in the kiss, trying to protest, but instead of letting go, he deepens the kiss.

I thrash here and there for a few moments to get him off of me, until my knee accidentally kicks him in the stomach. Kurama pulls away, and lets out a groan of pain. Taking advantage of the situation, I quickly get off the bed, staring with wide eyes as he starts coughing. Did I kick him too hard? I can't help but wonder, and for a moment, feel guilt creeping up my skin as I continue to stare at him. Just as I'm about to walk to him to ask if he's okay, his fit of coughs suddenly diminishes into thin air, and before I could react, he sits up from the bed.

I see his emerald eyes glaring at me, and I gulp, afraid of what he might do. He makes a move to get off the bed, and saunter towards me. In a state of panic, I grab a nearby vase that was settled on the desk, and in one swift motion, hits him with it.

He staggers until the back of his legs come in contact with his bed, and he falls onto it.

I hesitate for a moment, but then, I slowly walk up to him to see if he's alright. I grip the vase in my hands, being ready to hit him again just in case he tries anything funny.

When I reach his bed, I peer at his face. My eyes widen, and my hands fly to my mouth in surprise, letting go of the vase; the vase breaking as it hits the ground.

He fainted.

Not knowing what to do, and without knowing where Yusuke's or Kuwabara's room is so I coud get their help, I realize I have to go the only place I know which is near to the boys' dorms.

The warden's office.

* * *

"He's okay," the warden says, after moments of examining him, "He's just got a little bruise at the back of his head is all," she adds reassuringly when she sees the concerned look on my face.

I heave a sigh of relief at her words, glad that I didn't do anything that had badly injured him. "Thank god," I mutter under my breath.

"Mind explaining to me what happened?" she asks all of a sudden, arching an eyebrow my way. "I mean, Kurama's practically stark naked, and there's fragments of a broken vase lying on the ground, so something must've happened, right?"

"Well..." I blush, turning to look away and averting my gaze to the cold floor. "Um..."

The warden seems to sense my uneasiness, and gives me a smile of reassurance. "It's okay, just tell me. I've seen so many weird things already that nothing surprises me anymore," she tells me, a giggle erupting from her throat.

I blink at her a few times, before forcing myself to relax. I forgot this school was full of... special people, so things like that probably wouldn't mean such a big deal anyway.

With that, I inhale a deep breath, and exhale it, before starting to ramble, "You see, he sneezed and he suddenly started kissing me. I was shocked, you know? I mean, who wouldn't be? I tried stopping him, but he wouldn't. Then, all of a sudden, he pushed me onto the bed, still kissing me at the time. I struggled, and kicked him in the belly on accident. I ran out the bed, and he started coughing, but then, he regained composure, and started glaring at me. I got scared when he tried to approach me; I mean, I didn't know what he might do to me, so I grabbed the vase and hit him on the head. When I saw that he passed out, I dropped it by accident, causing it to break... and that's when I called you."

I look at the warden with big eyes, staring into her pink ones, as I search her face for a reaction. She merely blinks before saying, "Oh," and a grin begins to form on her lips. "I see."

"T-that's it?"

"Like I said, I'm used to these kind of stuff happening by now. I mean, I've been working here longer than you've been a student here," she simply answers.

"O-oh."

A moment of silence passes, as I stare at the sleeping-faced Kurama. His chest moves up and down as he breathes, and after a long pause and a few more moments of watching him, I ask, "W-what happened, actually? I mean, he was acting normal, but then he sneezed... and he just started being... really weird..."

The warden lets another giggle escape her, and I turn to peer at her with a questioning look in my amethyst eyes. She gives me a smile, before starting to explain, "You see, Kurama has... an alter ego."

"Alter ego?"

"Yeah. Someone called Youko Kurama."

"Youko... Kurama?" I echo the name, my eyebrows furrowing. Who is that? After a moment of racking my brain, a look of realization dawns my face. "Is that... his brother?"

The warden lifts her head to look at me in surprise. "Yeah. How did you know?" she inquires, with a hint of curiosity in her voice.

"Well, he told me earlier that he had a brother named Kurama... He was speaking of him using the past tense, and I thought it was kinda weird... is he...?"

The word doesn't manage to pass my lips, and the warden cuts me off, "Dead?"

"Yeah..." I mumble in response.

"Yeah, he is," she continues. In spite of assuming it earlier, her answer catches me by shock anyway and I look at her with wide eyes like saucers.

"What happened to him?"

"He... got into a car accident three years ago. You see, they weren't really blood related. Youko Kurama was adopted way before Minamino Shuichi was born. Although they weren't biological siblings, they were really close with each other. So when Youko Kurama passed away, this Kurama... um, how do I say this... he developed an alter ego that's similar to his dead brother. I don't really understand how that happened, but I guess it's just his way of coping with his brother's death. I mean, he didn't really take it too well, after all..."

"And that alter ego appears whenever he sneezes?" I ask, despite already knowing what the answer is.

She nods her head, and I question again, "And that alter ego... is actually like his brother?" to which I earn another nod from her. "That's... really sad," I say with a soft voice; to think Kurama went through all that and became like this...

"Don't make such a pitiful face," the warden says, and gives me a small pat at the top of my head. "Everyone here has a tragic past; that's why we all come here. You too have one as well, am I correct?" she inquires, but I don't answer, getting the feeling she already knows.

My past...

I shake my head, trying not to think of it, lest I become even more miserable. I then reach a hand to wipe a strand of Kurama's red hair from his face, the corners of my mouth pulling upwards into a small smile as he squirms in his sleep at my touch.

I stare at his serene face for a few moments until I hear footsteps walking for the door. Realizing it's the warden, I lift my gaze to look at her. "Are you going already?" I ask before I could even stop myself.

She smiles, and nods her head. "Yeah. I'm pretty busy, after all."

"Right," I mumble, feeling guilty as I think I might've been a nuisance to her a bit, "Sorry for troubling you... and thank you."

Her smile broadenes, as she nods once again. She puts her hand on the doorknob, turning it and opening the door. But before she exits, she whips her head around to say, "My name's Genkai, by the way. I didn't get to tell you that when you guys came in my office earlier," and before I could utter out another word, she steps out the room and closes the door.

My eyes stay on the wooden door for a few longer moments, before I turn to look at Kurama again. I put one of my arms on an unoccupied space on his bed, and place my chin in the palm of my hand. I stare at him, before muttering, in a low voice that seems to escape my lips without me noticing, "Guess everyone's here had a hard time... I suppose my dad was right when he told me this place was for people like me," My voice softens as I go on, "People with no one to rely on... and people who were outcasted by society..."

Memories of my old life comes flooding my head, and I quickly get rid of them by shaking my head violently. 'No, don't think about it!' I yell to myself. I inhale a breath, and exhale it, before inhaling and exhaling again, and repeated the process over a few more times. When I finally think I've calmed down a bit, I avert my gaze to the sleeping Kurama once again. My eyes trail from his closed eyes, to his lips... and then I start to vividly remember the feeling of those lips pressing against mine... So warm, I could still feel him on my lips...

A pink color comes tinting my cheek when I realize the less than appropriate thoughts intruding my mind. Stop it, Botan. He's passed out and all you're thinking about is kissing him again... but wait, I didn't kiss him... he kissed me... the pink color deepens as I think this, and I shake my head for the umpteenth time that day, reminding myself that he hadn't been himself.

He'd been Youko Kurama...

Well, not literally, but... oh well.

A part of me wonders, and wants to know more of his past; and for a moment, I ponder if I should ask him when he wakes up. But another part of me thinks I shouldn't pester him about it. Plus, I don't want to upset him or anything so I might as well shut up.

I keep my gaze on his face, before my vision slowly starts to become blurry... I raise a hand to my mouth to stifle back a yawn.

Huh? Why am I sleepy?

No... I have to stay up. I have to take care of Kurama...

But, Genkai did say he's okay... Just a little bruise is all...

But...

A little nap wouldn't hurt anyone, right?

* * *

When I wake up, I notice a comfortable silk against my back... like I was lying on a bed or something. Wanting to confirm my suspicions, I slowly open my eyes. I blink a few times to clear away the blurriness, and stare at the ceiling for a moment...

... that is, until I realize I was on Kurama's bed, and that he's not there.

My eyes widen into saucers, and I sit up in alarm. I make to go on a search for him, getting off the bed, when I catch sight of him sitting at his desk, with a book in his hands. I blink, wondering when he'd woken up.

I must've made a lot of noise when I got up, as he turns his head to my direction. He fixes his gaze on my face, his emerald eyes seem to glint as they meet mine, and his mouth curls upwards into a soft smile.

"I see you're awake."

It takes me a moment to answer, as I keep staring at him. But then, I finally open my mouth to say something. I couldn't get a word out though, so I quickly close it again. I settle with a small nod of my head instead.

I'm not sure why I'm acting like this, maybe I'm just still sleepy or maybe I'm still thinking of... that kiss... A blush creeps on my cheeks, warming my skin as the memories starts taking place in my head. "Um..." I start to say, but I don't know how to continue, so I fall silent again.

He seems to catch on what's wrong with me without needing me to say it though, as he lets a small chuckle escape his lips. "I know what you're thinking about, Botan," he says, and for a moment, I could've sworn he had a teasing edge in his voice as the words pass his lips. Although it could just be my imagination...

Then I realize another thing: when did he stop calling me 'Botan-san'?

Not that I mind though.

"I apologize for what happened," he goes on, giving me a sympathetic smile, though there's a hint of mirth dancing in his eyes, almost as if he's amused by something. "I can't control myself when..."

"...When Youko Kurama takes over?" I finish for him, and the smile falls from his face. He raises an eyebrow at me in wonder, as if silently asking how I came to know such a thing.

"Genkai told me," I answer his unspoken question.

"The warden?"

"Yeah."

"Oh," he says, before turning to his book. In the dark, I could see him slightly fold a page, as if he's making sure he doesn't forget where he left off. Then, all of a sudden, he closes the book.

"And what else did she tell you?" he inquires, removing himself from his chair, and starts sauntering his way to me. He flops down to his bed, and pats the space beside him, as if gesturing me to sit.

I comply, sitting on the bed as I respond, "Well, nothing much... just about your past..."

"Oh?" I catch on to the slight amusement in his voice, but I choose to pretend I don't notice. I lift my head to fix my gaze on him, and see him giving me a cryptic smile. I couldn't guess what he was thinking. "About my past, huh?"

"I'm sorry if that makes you uncomfortable," I apologize, almost on impulse. "I know how some people don't really like others knowing personal stuff about them and I didn't mean to prod... It's just that you fainted and—"

"It's okay," Kurama cuts me off, a laughter building in his chest, and erupting from his throat. "Do you always apologize too much for everything?" he continues, his laughter growing louder by the second.

For some reason, I feel embarrassed at being laughed at by him. A blush appears on my cheeks, and after making a mental note on how much I've been blushing today, I finally find my voice and I speak, "Only for things I feel sorry about."

"And you feel sorry about knowing my past?" he suddenly remarks, his laughter dying down as a smile forms on his lips. "Even when I already told you it's okay?"

My blush deepens slightly, and I nod my head.

He laughs again, though this time his fit of laughter didn't last as longer as his previous one, ending as soon as it started. "You're really weird, you know that?"

I open my mouth to make a smart retort, but then he cuts me off by leaning in close to me, his face only mere inches away from mine. There's something in his eyes as he gives me a mischievous smile, staring at me as I stare back at him. "Well, if that's the case," he whispers, low enough for me to hear, "If you're really sorry, then why don't you make it up by telling me yours?" he offers, before pulling away. His smile widens ever so slightly as I blush at the close proximity that had occured between the two of us.

"Um... my past?"

"Uh-huh. Your past for my past. Seems fair, right?"

"Well..." I pause, avoiding his gaze as he continue to give me that stare, making me fidget. "I guess so."

"Alright then," he says, and makes himself comfortable on the bed, pulling his legs up to sit indian-style. "Go on, start. I'm all ears."

A moment of silence passes between us; I remain silent for a while, and from the corner of my eyes, I can see Kurama still staring at me, waiting for me to say something. I inwardly heave a sigh, _well, here goes..._

"I used to be bullied a lot," I feel Kurama shifts slightly as I say this, but I pay him no mind and continue, "People were really scared of me because I could see ghosts. Plus, at the time, I didn't have any control over my powers, so I ended flying up in random moments, and this made them even more afraid of me. I guess they thought I was a monster or something, because soon they started pushing me around, and calling me names... I used to go home feeling miserable about myself, and I would cry into my pillow all the time. The bullying stopped after two years though, but then even my parents started treating me differently. They... they used to call me 'honey', but now everytime I see them, they... I don't know, I get this feeling they hate me... and I could see the fear in their eyes everytime I look into them... They gave me up for adoption a year ago, and fortunately a nice family took me in. It was going great and all, but as soon as I moved into a new school, I started getting harrassed again," By now, my voice is cracking and my tears start to form at the back of my eyes, before trailing down my cheeks, "The girls used to lock me up in the toilet and throw water all over me. Boys kept calling me freaks and told me no one would want to marry me. Everyday, I would come to school to see my desk and chair had gone missing. I'd always look for new ones, but even those, they hid. It didn't really fix the problem, you know... Everytime it's P.E, they would start throwing balls at me, and hitting me and kicking me... What's worse is that the teachers pretended they didn't see anything and... and... everytime mom and dad asks what's going on, I always lied... that's the worst part; lying and wearing a fake smile on my face. It was tiring... I was tired... And then one day, it came to a point, they started framing me... They told the teachers I was making ghosts possess the other students in class... and the... the teachers.."

"They believed them, didn't they?" Kurama states more than asks, and pulls me into his arms, enveloping me in a hug as I start crying my eyes out. "That's why you got expelled, right?"

"Y-yeah..." I sob, hiccuping once in a while. "Is it bad... having powers like this? Why do... why do people do those kind of things?"

"People do awful things when they're scared," Kurama answers with a soft voice, patting the small of my back to reassure me that everything's fine, "However, that doesn't justify any of their actions," he continues firmly this time, before putting his hands on my shoulders, and pushing me away gently. He looks deep into my eyes, as he wipes away my tears, and gives me a warm smile. "Yusuke and the others... and I... we would never do those things to you."

"I know," I say in a small voice, "I know," I tell him again, sounding firmer.

His smile broadens, as he wipes away a strand of sky blue hair from my eyes. "You're wonderful, Botan, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

I return his smile with one of my own, now feeling better as I hear his words. "Okay," I agree with a nod of my head, a giggle escaping me when he slides a strand behind my ear, his fingers tickling me.

"You have ticklish ears, don't you?" he teases, and my smile widens.

"No," I stubbornly deny, to which he shakes his head.

"I'm sorry for forcing you to open up to me... Telling me about your past... Maybe I shouldn't have told you to do that," he suddenly says, all humor aside, his voice serious as he gives me a sympathetic smile. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry."

"I know, and it's okay," I tell him, my lips curling upwards into my cheshire-like grin. "It felt good getting it off my chest."

His smile changes from sympathy to one full of gentleness. "I see," he utters out, "That's great then."

"I'm sorry for breaking your vase," I say out of nowhere, suddenly remembering the broken vase. I glance at the floor, expecting to see broken shards of glass, only to see the cold floor. It doesn't take me long to realize Kurama had picked up all the broken glass.

Instead of saying anything in response, Kurama starts smiling a half cryptic and half mischievous smile. That something in his eyes appear again for a fleeting moment, only to disappear as fast as it had appeared, and before I could comprehend what's going on, Kurama leans in all of a sudden, and presses his lips against mine.

For a moment, I wonder if this is Youko Kurama instead of Minamino Shuichi... but then, I realize he didn't sneeze.

That means...

He pulls away, a chuckle escaping him at the bewildered expression on my features. He stands up from the bed, and proceeds to pat my head, before ruffling my hair. "Stop apologizing too much," he tells me, and walks to the other bed. I watch with my mouth slightly agape as he lies down, and pulls the covers up to his chin. He sends me another smile before saying, "Goodnight," and turns around in bed, his back facing me.

I'm too surprised to even move.

I didn't even manage to tell him it's my bed he's sleeping on. Though a part of me thinks he already knows.

I trace a finger over my lips, I could still feel his warmth on them, could still feel how soft his lips were...

I used to think Kurama was one of the few people here who were more normal than the others.

He proved me wrong.

Kurama isn't so normal, after all.


	3. Chapter 3: Busted!

**When Freaks Fall**

 **Summary: Name: Itou Botan. Sex: Female. Age: 18. Additional info: Attends a high school for special kids with superpowers and weird personalities... wait, what?**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own YYH.**

 **Chapter 3: Busted!**

 _Riing! Riing! Riing!_ The annoying alarm clock goes off, waking me up and bringing me out of dream land. A loud groan erupts from my throat at the sound, and with my eyes closed, I reach a hand up to absent-mindedly turn it off. After a few moments of trying to find the source of the irritating noise, I'm finally able to cut off the ringing, slamming the clock with my hand.

I let out a sigh, and peek one eye open, only to shut it again as swiftly as possible as the sunrays peeking from the curtains blinded my eyes. I roll to the other side on the bed where it's slightly shady, and finally open my eyes fully. I blink, staring at the wall for what seems like ages, as realization dawns on me that I've slept on Kurama's bed; and he on mine. I avert my gaze from the wall to force myself to sit up from bed, and turn my head to where I expect Kurama's body would be. Unfortunately, what greets my sight is only an empty bed and I ponder if he'd already went to class.

Wait,

Speaking of class...

I whip my head around and fix my gaze on the clock, reading what time it is. I stare stupidly at it for a few moments, before my eyes widen in saucers as I realize something:

I've only got fifteen minutes left before class starts.

"Oh shit," I curse under my breath, and quickly get up from the bed. My hands reach down to pull the fabric of my shirt over my head, only to stop when the sound of the bathroom door opening interrupts. I look, and see Kurama come out of there; fully dressed in the boys' school uniform.

He seems to notice my presence, and turns his head my way, acknowledging me with a curt smile. "You awake? You'd better get ready fast, before it's too late."

I give him a blank stare, before opening my mouth, the words passing my lips almost too slowly for my liking, "Why... didn't you wake... me..."

"I tried to, but you wouldn't budge," he simply answers, a wolfy grin now plastered on his lips as he sees the blood rushing to my face.

I blush in embarrassment at his words; suddenly regretting my decision of asking him that. "Uh... you should go ahead to class. I wouldn't want to slow you down."

"It's okay," Kurama reassures me, his grin broadening ever so slightly, "I can wait for you if you want."

"No, it's fine," I insist, despite the idea seems pleasant, "You'll be late if you don't get going soon."

My redheaded roommate (it still feels kinda weird saying that) arches an eyebrow my way, silently asking if I'm sure, to which I nod in response. He stares at me for a while, before shrugging his shoulders, mumbling something that sounds suspiciously like, "If you say so..." under his breath. He then turns around and walks towards the door; I watch him as he exits through it, and soon hear the sound of the door closing.

With that, I swiftly take off my clothes, grabbing a towel that had been hanging on the chair, and quickly enter the bathroom. Turning on the shower, I sigh at the pleasant feeling of warm water trickling down my cold skin and vapor starts to fill the bathroom...

* * *

I turn the doorknob and open the door, not forgetting to close it behind me as I step out of the room. Just as I'm about to turn left to go to class, I notice a body stopping me from doing so. I blink in surprise at the redhead with his back against the wall, hands placed inside his pockets. He lifts his head to fix his gaze on me, sending me a smile as he does so.

"Took you long enough," he remarks, causing my brows to furrow.

"You... Were you waiting for me the whole time?"

"Well, I got scared that you might get lost, considering you're new here and all... so I decided I should wait, just in case I should help you out," Kurama tells me, but for some reason, my brain tells me that isn't exactly the case.

I brush the feeling off however, and decide that maybe it's true. "Alright then," I respond with a smile, before swinging my bag over my shoulders. "Let's go," My words come out more like a statement than an invitation, but Kurama follows suit anyway as I start walking down the hallway. I don't panic, thinking there's at least eight minutes left before class begins, and the journey from the boys' dorms to my classroom would take five minutes, tops.

"How did you end up going to this school, Kurama?" I ask, starting small conversation as we walk side by side to class, "Did you get expel or something?" I continue, in spite sensing that's probably not the reason.

"No, I wasn't expelled," he retorts, and for some reason, leans in close to me, our shoulders almost brushing as I try to ignore the way the contact causes my cheeks to slightly heat up, "It was sort of my decision, to be honest. I mean, everyone around me didn't get me and my powers, so I decided to go to a place where there were more people like me... In short, I kind of felt different, so I came here to feel like I actually fit in," and he laughs, "Though usually fitting in doesn't concern me, so it even strikes me as strange that that's the reason I went to Meikuo Gakuen... but well, it's the truth."

My mouth forms an 'o', and then I hum in agreement. "You're kinda right though; it's better to be around people who are alike with you than sticking to those who made you feel out of place," I say, being able to relate to what he said. Then, a thought occurs in my head and I question in a curious voice, "Does that include your mother?"

"Hmm?" he hums in response, raising his eyebrow.

"The people who... didn't understand you and made you feel different."

The corners of his lips curl upwards into a smile; then he shakes his head as in 'no', and proceeds to say, "My mother were the only one who _did_ ," he emphasizes, showing just how much he actually cares for her.

"Then why did you leave?" I find myself asking before I could stop myself. I bite my lip then, as a frown crosses my face, as I begin to think the question might upset him. "I... uh..." I start, only to trail off as I realize I don't know what to say. Sorry didn't seem enough.

Besides...

" _Stop apologizing too much,"_ Kurama's words from before echoes in my head, stopping me from uttering another word out of my mouth. Instead, I whip my head to give him a look; a look that would at least send him a message that I didn't mean to ask what I asked.

Although I feel guilty, Kurama lets out a chuckle, and shakes his head, as if saying, 'It's okay'.

"I left... because she passed away," he answers after his fit of laughter dies down. "Without anyone important holding me back, I finally transferred here."

"Your mother passed away..." I mutter under my breath, my voice almost inaudible, but I have no doubt Kurama can still hear it. Then I add, "Along with your brother..." and peer at the floor. I don't know why; Kurama didn't have tears in his eyes, but... it saddens me to think that he lost two of his loved ones and that... he said he has no one left.

Kurama seems to be able to read me like a book, as he gives me a gentle pat at the top of my head, causing me to look at him only to see him wearing a reassuring smile on his handsome features... Crap, did I say handsome features?

Anyway, he tells me, "Don't make that face, or I'll feel like I should kiss you," and although I know that's a joke, I still blush, my face reddening as I avoid his gaze. I hear him laugh, and feel him remove his hand from my head, the warmth of his touch leaving me almost immediately.

"D-don't say that," I scold him, my cheeks turning redder as his laughter only grows louder at my words.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," he assures me, and I hear a touch of amusement in his voice as he says this. A few moments of silence pass between us, until Kurama finally breaks it off, his voice now sounding serious as he speaks, "Anyway, although I've lost both my mother and my brother who had been the closest to me... I found that I now have a new family; one that I know I can trust and count on no matter what."

"You mean, Yusuke and the others?" I guess, despite already knowing.

"Yes," comes his immediate reply, as if he said that without any hesitation. Then, his mouth forms a cryptic smile; one I've seen before, as he fixes his emerald orbs on me. Our eyes meet, and he adds, "And you too."

I widen my eyes, and can't help the red color that comes tinting my cheeks as I hear him say this, and proceeds to look away. "But we just met..." I tell him in a soft voice, wondering for a moment if this is one of his silly jokes again.

"Perhaps," he agrees, "But ever since I've laid my eyes on you, I get the feeling you were someone trustworthy, and I realized sooner or later, you'll be one of the important ones in my life. I guess you could say it's trust at first sight," he explains, the mysterious smile on his face widening slightly as he watches me avert my gaze to blink my amethyst eyes at him in confusion, "And maybe there's something else too," he adds, mirth dancing in his eyes as he stares into mine, almost as if he's looking right into my soul.

I crease my eyebrows, confused as to what he's trying to say. I open my mouth to ask him what he meant, only to cut myself short, at the realization that we've already reached the classroom. And Kurama, as if he hadn't said something weird, reaches out to open the door. "Ladies first?" he says, stepping aside to let me go in first.

My expression brightens, and my mouth pulls up into a cheshire-like grin, "Thanks," I say back, though inwardly I make a mental note to continue our previous conversation sometime later.

As soon as I enter the classroom, everyone starts cheering... for some reason. I arch a curious eyebrow and after a moment of staring at their snickering faces, I inquire, "What's going on?" Is there some kind of celebration or something?

"Nothing," Yusuke answers, and after a pause, he starts to wriggle his eyebrows at me. "Except we're celebrating you and Kurama becoming roommies, of course."

"Celebrating?" I repeat, a frown now marring my futures. "Is there any need to celebrate that? Why..."

Before I can finish, Kuwabara cuts me off by yelling, "Hail to the new couple!" and repeats it a few more times. Soon, the others seem to follow suit.

My eyes blink. Once, twice, thrice... and then a blush creeps up my cheeks. "Wha—We're not a couple! What are you guys talking about? Just because me and Kurama... speaking about that, where did you find out? I believe I haven't told any of you yet," I cry out indignantly, raising my arms in exasperation.

"Well..." Shizuru whistles, "News spread fast here, ya know? And we've got our ways to... figure things out."

"I think this is the first time the school has roommates with opposite sexes," Keiko suddenly remarks, putting a finger under her chin, "It's really kinda weird... and funny. Not to forget that it's funny of course," and then, she bursts into a howl of laughter.

"Seriously, people," I hear Kurama's voice from behind me, and whip my head around to see him sporting a poker face, "Botan's only forced to room with me, since all the rooms in the girls' dorms are taken."

"Yeah, we know," Yusuke says, "But, a boy and a girl..."

"It's not funny," both me and Kurama cut him off, unexpectedly at the same time. Emeralds and amethysts blink for a few times, before turning to look at each other. "Uh..."

Well, that was kinda embarrassing.

"You guys," Yukina chimes in, shaking her head in disapproval, "It's not nice to tease them."

"Exactly, Yukina-chan!" I agree, a bright grin begin to adorn my face as I realize not everyone in this class is mean. I mean, they're nice... but they can be really mean sometimes. Then again, Yukina seems like the nicest in this class anyway. "I'm glad at least you're not poking fun at us," I tell her, referring to me and Kurama.

"Alright, fine, fine!" Yusuke raises his arms in defeat, a sigh of exasperation escaping his lips. "We were only joking, you know."

"We know," Kurama states all too knowingly, before proceeding to walk over to his seat. He places his bag on the chair, and pulls back the wooden material slightly to create enough space for him to seat. "It's just really... embarrassing."

"Speaking of being embarrassed," Kuwabara pipes in, "Did anything happen between you guys?"

"Whatever do you mean, Kuwabara?" Kurama replies, feigning ignorance and continues to unzip his bag, putting out the books needed for the next period.

Kuwabara doesn't see through his act, and proceeds to show an example, "Like, did you sneeze..."

I cut him short before he manage to finish. Flinging my arms in the air, I cry in exasperatiom, "Nothing of the sort happened!" Although I know I'm lying to myself, it's not like I'm going to tell them either. I huff angrily, before stomping to my seat. I pull the chair back, the wooden material making a screeching sound under the brute force I used as I did so. To be honest, I'm more embarrassed than angry, but I might as well act like I'm upset before they start getting weird ideas...

Shizuru raises her hands in defense, the corners of her mouth curls upwards into a grin before she starts to laugh, "Whoa, chill, Bo! We're only messing with you."

"Yeah, there's no need to be so touchy," Keiko adds, joining Shizuru in the laughter, "You're really funny, Botan-chan."

I place my bag on the desk, faintly aware of the pink color tinting my cheeks. I didn't mean to be hilarious. "I-is that bad?" I find myself asking almost timidly.

"Nah," this time, it's Yusuke who spoke. He waves his hand dismissively as he goes on, "It's actually kinda interesting, you know."

"Changing the topic, don't you think Mio-sensei's is kind of late?" Keiko comments all of a sudden, her brown eyebrows forming a crease on her forehead, "I mean, she's usually not this tardy..."

"Meh," Yusuke shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly, "Not that I care."

"She probably has a meeting or something," Yukina suggests. "You know how busy she is," she states in a matter of fact.

"Guess so," Shizuru mutters under her breath, though I get the feeling she doesn't really care. "I don't really mind as long as there's no teacher," she adds. I was right.

"Or the annoying teach' probably got lazy," Kuwabara makes a joke, to which everyone breaks into laughter, except me, Keiko and Kurama. The brunette sports an annoyed expression on her face, while Kurama continues to read a book without a care in the world. It amazes me how doing that never bores him.

"Why do you look so ticked off, Keiko?" Yusuke starts teasing, pointing a finger at her. "Do you really care about that teacher or something?"

"No," the brunette's answer comes almost immediate, and sounds stern. "I just want to start study session, that's all."

"Really, Kei," Shizuru pulls out a cigarette from her box of cigarettes, "What's so fun in studying really? I don't get it," she says, and grabs a lighter from her pockets, before lighting the cigarette. She puts it between her upper and lower lip, and starts smoking.

"You get to learn a lot of information," Keiko answers, her voice sounding defensive, "Don't you guys want to earn more knowledge as well?" she asks, to which she earns groans from the others in return.

"We do," Kuwabara retorts and scratches the back of his head, "But classes are so boring."

Keiko shakes her head, and watches for a moment as everyone starts conversing about vaious topics. She heaves out a sigh, turning to look at Kurama who seems to be too absorved in his book to care, before fixing her gaze on me. "Don't tell me you have the same opinion as they do, Botan-chan."

I let out a laugh at her pout. "No, not really. I mean, I do admit that classes can be such a bore at times, but I actually kinda like studying, to be honest," I reply, a smile crossing my face.

"Me too," Yukina's small voice chimes in, agreeing with me.

The frown on Keiko's mouth is soon replaced by a warm smile. "That's really wonderful, guys."

"Anyway, who's this Mio-sensei? I mean, everyone kept saying they don't care about her; is she _that_ bad?" I question, changing the topic of conversation. It's actually been bugging me for quite a long time. Is the teacher that awful that no one seems to like her?

"Um... I guess you could say that," Keiko answers after a long pause.

"Why?"

"Well, she's really strict. Like really, really, _really_ strict. She's a disciplinary teacher, and everyone pretty much hates her because she always punishes students with no discipline too much. To be honest, even I think her actions are always over the line," Keiko admits.

"Once, she gave a student two spanks at the hand because she asked to go to the toilet," Yukina adds, causing me to frown.

"Even a nature's call is wrong?"

"Yep," comes Keiko's response, "Frankly, I think it's very odd."

" _Who_ wouldn't think so?" I emphasize, and burst into a fit of laughter, with the other two girls joining me as soon as I do. Although I haven't met Mio-sensei in the flesh, she sounds really... unpleasant.

"Putting that aside, when are you gonna head to the Lost and Found to get a change of clothes and stuff you need, Botan-chan?" Yukina suddenly inquires, giving me a look of wonder.

I blink at her. It takes me longer than usual to realize what she's talking about. "Oh, that," I almost forgot I didn't bring my things here. "I don't know," I answer. Then, a thought occurs in my head and I ask, "Why do you guys call it 'Lost and Found' anyway?"

"Well, we didn't really know what else to call it and the office didn't really have a name either," Keiko tells me, and I give an understanding nod, "All we know is that that's where all the stuff are. All you have to do is go there and tell the teacher in charge, which is usually Kumiko-sensei, that you need a few things. Don't worry, she's really nice."

"Really?" and after a pause, "Do you think I should go now?" I ask.

"You should. I mean, the sooner the better," Yukina gives me the reply; except it isn't really the sort of reply I wanted.

"Aww," I start to whine, "but I'm sooo lazy. Plus, who would want to go with me?"

Keiko and Yukina open their mouths and raise their hands, as if to volunteer, but then a word doesn't manage to pass their lips, as a masculine voice chimes in, "If you want to, I can go with you."

I fix my gaze at the redhead in front of me, and blink at him in surprise. Although I can see that he's still reading his book (the book is still opened in his hands), and his head isn't turned facing me, I knew it was him who spoke. I didn't think he had been listening.

"Are you sure?" I inquire, frowning my eyebrows, "I mean, you went to the warden's office with me yesterday and..."

Whatever I had to say is immediately cut off by the sound of the chair screeching. I watch as Kurama rises from the chair, and proceeds to close his book, placing it inside his bag, before lifting his gaze to meet mine and giving me that smile that for some reason, makes my heart beat fast.

"Shall we go then?" he asks,

And I'm too surprised to say no, so I absent-mindedly answer, "Yes."

* * *

"Here's the office..." Kurama's voice is low and almost inaudible as he says this, as if he's talking to himself. He opens the door, revealing an empty seat and a work desk. He arches a red eyebrow at this and hums in wonder. "Hmm, I guess Kumiko-sensei is not here."

"Does that mean we should go back another time?" I tell him, and stand on my toes, trying to take a peek of the office from Kurama's shoulder. I see a lot of cupboards arranged at the back, and assume for a moment that's where the clothes, and things are kept.

"No, it's alright," he simply says, before stepping in the office. "We should just help ourselves."

"Is that okay? I mean, would the teacher allow such a thing?" I inquire, worry now etched to my features. Despite knowing Keiko said this 'Kumiko-sensei' is supposed to be nice, I don't think intruding and taking stuff out of the cupboards without permission is fine, even with a _nice_ teacher.

"Trust me, it's fine," Kurama insists, and I have no choice to relent.

"Okay then," I comply after a short while. "But if we get into any trouble, you'll be the one responsible, mister," I playfully add, walking up to him.

A chuckle builds inside Kurama's chest, and escapes his lips, "If you say so, Botan."

"Ne, Kurama," I say, after a moment of silence pass between us, "What's the difference between you and your alter ego, Youko Kurama?"

He turns to look at me then, raising his eyebrows as he meets my gaze. "The difference between Minamino Shuichi and Youko Kurama?"

"Yeah."

"Why do you want to know?"

"No reason," I answer, shrugging my shoulders, "Just curious is all."

"Well... Youko Kurama is more playful than I am. He's more straight forward, messier, and friendlier..." Kurama pauses then, and turns to fix his gaze on me. Mischief dances in his emerald eyes, and a smirk forms on his lips, as he adds, "And he's kind of a pervert." And I see his gaze trail further down to my lips, before trailing upwards to my eyes, as if searching for some kind of reaction. "That's why he kissed you yesterday."

My face turns red at his words, and I avoid his scrutinizing gaze to peer at the floor. "Oh..." I mumble in a soft voice, but I can practically feel his smirk widening.

"Hmm," he hums, and I hear him shift around the office, as if he's looking for something. I'm too embarrassed to look at him, so I stare at his feet, as he starts walking towards a cupboard. He opens it, and searches through it, before closing it again. I can almost feel his eyes on me then, and I hear a chuckle erupt from his throat. "That doesn't really explain why I kissed you as well, now does it?" his words sound more of a statement than a question as they pass his lips, but I answer anyway.

"No..."

His feet starts sauntering closer to the spot I'm standing at. Just as they're mere inches away from mine, they stop. My heart's beating fast, the sound so loud I can almost hear nothing but, as Kurama leans in, his lips at my ear. He exhales, his breath fanning the sensitive skin there, and making me whimper.

He pulls away then, and lets out a laugh; and I can't tell if he's making fun of me or is he thinks I'm interesting. "Well, do you want to know?" he suddenly asks, with all curtness intact in his voice.

Despite knowing better, I lift my head to give him a timid look. "Do I want to know what?"

"Do you want to know why I kissed you?"

I'm aware of his body inching closer to mine, and I can practically feel the warmth radiating off his skin. In spite of my clearly obvious nervousness that I have no doubt Kurama can see, I try to sound as calm as possible as I inquire, "Why?"

"Because you're attractive," he simply answers.

For some reason, a part of me is dissastified with the response, and I quickly say, "There are other girls who are also attractive. Shizuru's matured, Keiko's pretty and Yukina's as cute as a button—"

Kurama cuts me off. "But I don't feel like kissing them."

"And why is that?" the question comes almost immediate as it escapes my lips. My eyes meet his then, and I stare at him as he stares back, refusing to back down until he gives me an appropriate answer.

"You're different than the others," he says, after a pause. But then he whips around, and starts to walk away, sauntering towards another cupboard. "Besides, I feel odd whenever I'm around you."

A crease begins to form on my forehead. "Different how?" I ask, and walk up to him. He doesn't answer, so I stop in front of him, standing in his way as he tries to look inside the cupboard. "And what do you mean you feel 'odd' around me?"

I stare into his emerald orbs, searching for an answer underneath all that poker face. He stares back, as if this doesn't bother him. But then, after a moment of silence and more staring passes between us, he heaves a heavy sigh. My face brightens up at this, thinking this is a sign that he's relenting and willing to talk.

Except his hands suddenly grab either side of my waist, and in one swift movement, he pushes me gently out of the way. I blink, my mouth slightly agape; that kind of reaction is not what I expected.

I lower my gaze to see him bending down and looking through all the stuff in the cupboard at the lower section. I give him a long and blank stare, before letting a loud and exasperated sigh escape my lips. I bend my knees, and start to search through the wooden cupboard as well, ignoring the puzzled look Kurama gives me as I do so. "You're never gonna give me an answer, are you?"

The bewildered expression disappears from Kurama's features, now replaced by one filled with amusement as he watches me throw out all the unneeded stuff in the cupboard. Why are there so many irrelevant things in here anyway? Well... I'm not really sure what I'm looking for either, and I don't know what Kurama's been searching for, for all the time we've been here in Lost and Found. Then, a thought occurs me;

A spare of clothes maybe? Yeah, I'll look for those first. I don't wanna be stuck wearing the school uniform 24 hours a day, you know.

All of a sudden, the sound of a chuckle escapes, and reaches my ears. I turn to look at Kurama, and see him sending me an odd gaze. "What?"

"Nothing," he answers, after his chuckle disappears into thin air, "It's just that you looked like you were deep in thought."

"Oh." I pause. "I was thinking about what we're looking for, and thought that maybe I should go for clothes first."

"I see," comes his retort. "I was actually looking for books; Kumiko-sensei said there was a few in here."

"Oh," I say for the second time, and a smile forms on my lips. "Bookworm," I playfully add, a howl of laughter erupting from my lips. Kurama joins me, laughing as well.

The laughter soon dies down and a moment of silence occurs. Nothing comes out of our mouths for a while, until Kurama breaks it off, "And for what you previously said," he suddenly starts. I cock my head to the side, and arch one curious eyebrow his way, not understanding what he means until he continues, "You know, when you told me that I'm never going to give you an answer," he reminds me, as if he noticed the confused expression on my face.

"Yeah?" I bite my lip. "What about it?" I ask, my heart thumping against my chest as I assume this is the time he will finally answer me seriously.

Instead, he sends me a teasing smirk, and mysteriously says, "Well, that's for me to know and for _you_ to find out," causing me to pout.

"Aww, come on, Kurama!"

He laughs.

The frown on my mouth deepens at his laughter, as I find none of this amusing. He could've just straight up and told me, but nooo... I inwardly sigh and give up, knowing he _really_ isn't going to tell me anything and is gonna wait for me to figure it all out myself.

I decide not to think of it, lest I hurt my head and give Kurama more unnecessary entertainment (he's poking fun at me, like he's amused I want to know _that_ badly :rolls eyes:).

After a few moments of searching, I finally realize something. There, at the back of the cupboard, I see a black plastic (you know, the ones people use to keep all their rubbish in). I hadn't noticed it before, because there was a lot of things in here, but after throwing out all those stuff, therefore leaving less and less stuff in here, I can finally see clearly that it's there.

I lean into the cupboard, reaching out a hand to grab it. I give it an experimental tug as I do, but it proves to be heavier than I thought, so I put my other hand on it as well, and start to pull it out of the cupboard.

"What's that?" I hear Kurama question from my side.

"No clue," I reply absent-mindedly, as I give it one last pull. A 'mmph' sound erupts from my lips as I pull it for the last time, and the big plastic bag lands on my lap. I cough as I realize there's a lot of dust on it, and start to rub my nose, as if trying to prevent myself from sneezing. I fail to do so however, as a small sneeze escapes me.

"It's really dusty here, Ku—"

I'm cut off by a sneeze; one that sounds louder and more masculine than mine was.

Uh oh.

I make to back away as far as possible from the redhead, but an arm snakes its way around my waist, pulling me closer to him instead. "Wait, Kurama! What are you—"

"Hello, kitten."

A purr.

Kurama actually purrs.

Then again, this isn't really the Kurama I'm accustomed to. More like it's...

Youko Kurama.

"Don't call me that!"

He makes a scoffing sound. "I can call you whatever I want," he snorts, and I open my mouth to make a smart remark... only to be instantly cut off by Kurama again as he crushes my lips with his.

Oh no, it's happening again.

I scream into the kiss, and start beating against his chest to get him to let me go. Instead of stopping though, he only pushes me down to the ground and proceeds to deepen the kiss. I feel his tongue poking at my lower lip, trying to get me to open my mouth, but I don't.

A dangerous growl (?) erupts from Kurama's throat at my resistance, and he breaks off the kiss. He gives me an annoyed expression, his emerald orbs holding slight irritation in them, and his mouth in a thin line as he glares down at me.

"I don't get it," he growls once again, and I almost whimper, "Why is it that you're so friendly with my other side but get scared whenever I pop out?"

"That's because you're a pervert! And you're always trying to kiss me!" I let out an indignant cry, only to cup my mouth, my eyes widening in fear as I realize I had just yelled at him.

Now what does doing that help in my current predicament?

Kurama, or should I say, Youko Kurama, rolls his eyes in annoyance at my words. "Whatever," he gives a nonchalant response, before leaning in close until I can feel his breath on my lips and his mouth brush against mine as he speaks, "You didn't seem scared when Shuichi kissed you."

It takes me a moment to realize that Shuichi means his other side; the calmer one, the more reasonable one... the one who isn't on top of me and leering at me like I'm some piece of meat!

I feel my own irritation starting to rise, and I almost roar, "That's because _his_ kiss was short and brief! Plus, I was too surprised to even react, much less to be afraid of him..." My voice trails off, as I glare up at him, "Besides, he's more gentleman than you'll ever be," I taunt, a smirk forming on my lips; an obvious attempt to annoy him even more.

"Huh," Youko Kurama rolls his eyes once again, and he makes a weird expression as he turns back to look at me, staring at me like I'm stupid or something, "Even gentlemen have dicks."

Blood immediately rushes to my cheeks. Too embarrassed to even speak, my mouth open and close like a fish as I stare at him with eyes wide as saucers. Damn him. Damn that satisfied smirk on his face.

"W-what does that have anything to do with this?" I yell, flailing my arms in the air.

Another growl escapes him as one of my arms accidentally hits him in the face, causing him to grab both my flailing arms in his strong hands... wait, did I say strong hands?... Never mind.

"W-what are you doing?" I question, as I stare up at him in fear, and gulp as his hold on my arms tighten ever so slightly, preventing me from escaping his evil clutches... Okay, maybe evil clutches is too mean... but still...

My thoughts are cut short as he gives me a short answer, "Shutting you up," and before I can comprehend what he means by that, he quickly silences me with a kiss.

I shut my eyes tight, as he begins to move his mouth, keeping my lips still, even as he bites my lower lip, silently warning me to respond. When I feel his tongue touching my teeth, I don't open my mouth to let the wet appendage enter. But, that proves to be a mistake, as he pinches me in the arm, causing me to let out a surprised gasp, and letting him dive his tongue inside.

I feel it travel in my mouth, from the roof, to my teeth, to the inside of my cheek... until it finally strokes mine. I almost jump as he gives my tongue an experimental lick, my legs beginning to shake as I feel Youko Kurama moves his tongue around it, beckoning me to move mine as well.

I stay still for awhile, as he keeps doing that... and finally when I'm unable to take it anymore, I start stroking his tongue as well. He makes a noise that sounds suspiciously like a half groan and half groan that reverbrates in my throat, causing my heart to beat fast as he lets go of my arms, and snakes his hands around my waist, rubbing up and down my sides as our tongues continue to dance.

Teeth clashing, mouth moving, tongues dancing...

What on earth am I doing? I can't help but think.

Although my mind keeps telling me I'd better stop before I regret it, my heart tells me no, don't stop, and I'll never regret this, and that I want this. I don't know why though... do I really want this?

I begin to debate with myself whether I should continue, but then, Kurama rids me off those thoughts from my head with every brush of his tongue. Right, left, up, down... I feel his right hand trailing downwards to my hips, squeezing lightly, but I don't stop him. However, I realize that I'm beginning to need air, so I place my hands on his chest, pushing gently to tell him to stop.

Fortunately, he does stop, pulling away, a thin trail of saliva trailing down my chin as we part. A chuckle erupts from his throat as he stares yearningly (?) at me, and I try not to seem too out of breath.

Kurama's mouth inches closer then, and I close my eyes, puckering my lips as I assume he's going to kiss me again... but instead, he softly presses his lips against my cheeks, before trailing downwards to my chin... and then, to my neck, where he lightly nips against the skin there, earning a yelp from me in return. I feel him smirking, and roll my eyes as I realize he's feeling victorious that he got me to submit.

"And here I thought you were inexprienced," Youko Kurama utters out, as soon as he pulls away from my neck, giving me an amused stare. Mirth dance in his eyes, as the smirk on his lips broaden ever so slightly.

"Hmph," I huff, crossing my arms as my heart slowly starts to slow down; though the red color on my cheeks doesn't fade away. "Who do you think I am?" I ask haughtily, despite knowing myself that I don't really have _that_ much experience. I only recalled the times I watched couples kissed on TV... I didn't think I would actually pull it off.

A wholehearted laugh escapes him at my words. And I smile as I watch him laugh... only to frown when the laughter dies down, and his face leans closer to mine. A smirk teasingly plays on his lips, and there seems to be a mysterious glint in those emerald eyes, as he whispers ever so seductively, in a low and husky voice, "Should we do it again?" he states, more than asks, leaving no room for disagreement.

My eyes widen at his words, my blush deepening and I try to push him off, as his lips inches closer to mine. "What? No! No, we can't—"

An unfamiliar voice cuts me off; one that doesn't belong to either me or Kurama.

"What the _fuck_ are you guys doing?"

I look up to the window, and see a spiky haired boy with black hair and blue strikes in it, his emerald eyes glowering down at us as he has a hand placed on the windowsill.

 _What?_

I swiftly kick Kurama off of me, ignoring the loud 'Ow!' that I earn from him.

Shit.

I'm doomed.


	4. Chapter 4: Things I Won't Tell

**When Freaks Fall**

 **Summary: Name: Itou Botan. Sex: Female. Age: 18. Additional info: Attends a high school for special kids with superpowers and weird personalities... wait, what?**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own YYH.**

 **Chapter 4: Things I Won't Tell**

"You know, if you wanted to fuck," the unfamiliar boy starts, a smirk beginning to form on his face, "you could've done it somewhere else," he finishes, his crimson eyes fixed on Kurama's (why is that redhead smirking?), before trailing to mine. He arches an eyebrow at me, but the frown on my face doesn't disappear.

Fuck?

What did he mean by that?

Me and Kurama...

My frown evidently deepens.

"Hello, Hiei," Kurama greets dryly. He places his hands on the floor, before pushing himself up to stand. He brushes the dust away from his clothes nonchalantly, as if he wasn't busted doing something... inappropriate. A slight tink pink color begin to reach my cheeks as I relive the memories in my head, before shaking them off.

When I finally calm down a bit, I lift my head to see a hand extended out to me. I blink at it stupidly for a moment, before trailing my eyes to the owners's face. I'm greeted by the sight of Kurama; mirth dancing in his eyes, and a small smile plastered on his sweet lips – wait, did I say sweet lips? Okay, forget that.

Tentatively, I accept his offer, and he pulls me up gently. I almost fall on top of him as he pulled me too quick for me to react, but I manage to balance myself before I can. He seems to notice this, a chuckle leaving his lips.

After his chuckle subsides, he turns to look at the boy, 'Hiei'. "And, Hiei, I don't make it a habit to have sex in public, so I'd appreciate it if you don't get the wrong idea," he tells him, a laugh erupting from his throat as Hiei gives him a deadpanned look.

"Wrong idea? If I hadn't been mistaken, you guys were _kissing_ ," Hiei retorts, a scoff escaping him. His crimson orbs roll in annoyance as Kurama's laugh only grows louder.

"Kissing, indeed," Kurama admits, before flashing me a toothy grin, "but it wasn't anything like that, you see," Then, for some reason, he mumbles, almost inaudible, but I hear him quickly, "Unfortunately..."

Hiei raises one eyebrow at him. "Oh?"

"Well, it's not like it never crossed my mind though," Kurama adds playfully, his grin widening ever so slightly as he sees me blush beet red; both in embarrassment and anger.

"Why you disgusting pervert—"

My curses gets cut off by Hiei, who rudely and emotionlessly just interrupts, "You have bad taste as usual, Minamino," he says.

I gawk at him. " _Bad taste?_ " I almost scream in exasperation. I make to give him a piece of my mind, fuming and stomping my way to him, only to be stopped by a hand grabbing my shoulder. I look behind it, and see Kurama shake his head; there's that annoying grin on his face again though.

"Who is she, by the way?" Hiei proceeds to ask, jumping down from the windowsill. Freak, I think and almost say it out loud. Phew. Thank god I didn't. Haha.

"She's the new student here, and... my new roommate as well," Kurama introduces me in a curt manner; I could've sworn I heard him purr when he said roommate though... but oh well. "Her name is Itou Botan."

"Botan?" Hiei says my name, and I turn to look down at him (lol, look _down;_ the guy's _that_ short). The corners of his mouth pulls up into an arrogant smirk as he continues, "What kind of name is that?"

"It's pretty, and it means peony, for your information!" I roar, my face heating up in anger.

"I didn't ask."

"Why you—"

"It's been a while since I've last seen you, Hiei," Kurama's voice cuts our heated argument short, and we both avert our attentions to him. "Where have you been?" he asks, arching a red eyebrow in wonder.

"Hn," Hiei rolls his eyes, "None of your fucking business."

"Ouch," Kurama fakes, placing a hand to his chest, "I'm hurt."

"Funny," comes Hiei's sarcastic reply with an equally sardonic expression on his features.

Kurama laughs, to which Hiei shakes his head. "Anyway, where's the other Kurama?" he questions, crossing his arms over his chest. And I can't believe I just noticed this now, but why is he wearing all black?

I open my mouth to ask, but Hiei holds up a hand in return, silently ordering me to be quite. A crease begins to form on my forehead as he says, "I'm not talking to you." I haven't even said anything yet!

Can he read minds?

"Yes," Hiei suddenly answers, and my eyes almost bulge out of my sockets, and my heart almost jumps out of my chest. _Almost_. "I can read minds. Plus, you opening your mouth like a stupid fish is kinda a giveaway," he continues to insult me, causing me to glare daggers at him, my shock dying down almost instantly.

My mouth parts to speak again, only to be stopped by Hiei who gives me another 'talk to my hand' sign. I fume at this. And what does the guy do? He _ignores_ me. Great. Just great, asshole.

Hiei spares me a brief glance then, before looking away; and although it had been brief, I could almost see the annoyace in his crimson eyes. I give him a blank stare, thinking what I've done to irritate him. A moment of silence passes by, and it takes me a moment to realize he can read minds, so he just read mine and heard me call him an asshole. My hands quickly fly to my mouth in surprise, and Hiei scoffs at this, as if mocking me for not realizing that sooner.

"Sorry," I mumble.

I _really_ need to get out of this room.

Hiei rolls his eyes, before giving me a smirk. "Save it," he replies, before turning to look at Kurama... who's eyebrow is twitching for some reason. Hiei's smirk widens ever so slightly at this, and I cock my head to the side in curiosity.

"Are you _jealous_?" Hiei inquires teasingly, making my eyes widen in surprise. What, really?

"No," Kurama immediately retorts, his voice lacking emotion but I can tell the underlying irritation in it as he continues to speak, "What do you want with Shuichi?"

"Nothing," Hiei replies, shrugging his shoulders, "Just wanted his help in something."

"Something?"

"I need him to hack into someone's computer."

"And you don't think _I_ can do that?" Kurama asks, arching one eyebrow Hiei's way. Although he said this calmly, I can still clearly sense that he's upset. I realize that he doesn't stand people underestimating him, and telling him what he can't and can do as his emerald eyes narrow dangerously at the shorter boy in front of him.

Although Hiei probably seems to be able to detect that he's in danger, what's with Kurama giving him that menacing stare, he proceeds to state, "I know you can do it, but you're too annoying for me to deal with sometimes. At least, the other Kurama takes me _seriously_."

Which aggravates Kurama even more, if I might add.

"What are you saying—" Kurama's raising voice immediately gets cut short when Hiei grabs a hands full of debris, and in one swift motion, blows it to Kurama's face.

Wow, the guy's really agile, I'll give him that. Even I'm amazed. As I think this, I see a smirk crossing Hiei's face. Egotistical bastard.

Kurama coughs a few times, his right hand flying here and there to brush away the debris; a sneeze manages to escape him though, which reverbrates in the whole office.

I keep my attention on him as he continues to rub a finger at his nose. Then, after a few moments, his voice reaches my ears, sounding... well, sounding like how Minamino Shuichi would.

"Really, Hiei," Kurama starts, his lips curving up into a half smile and half smirk, "I hadn't expected you to do that."

"Well, your other half is always so easily caught off guard when I hurt his damn ego," Hiei simply responds, causing Kurama to let out a half hearted laugh.

"You needed my assistance in hacking someone's computer?" Kurama changes the topic, his serious mode 'on'.

"Yeah," Hiei hands him a piece of paper. I try to take a peek at what he wrote on it, but crimson eyes glares at me, causing me to back off.

"Him?" Kurama tilts his head to the side. "What did he do this time?"

"There's no need for you to fucking know," Hiei hisses, and Kurama raises his arms up in the air in defeat; though there's a slight amused smile plastered on his face now.

"I'll see to it that you get your revenge, Hiei," Kurama playfully says, to which Hiei sends him a heated stare.

"You'd better," he warns, before climbing up the windowsill, and in a flash, he's gone, leaving a blur of black as he leaves.

"What?" My mouth falls open. "H-how did he..."

A chuckle falls out Kurama's lips. "Hiei, he's different than the others," he tells me, and I give him a weird look that literally says 'Aren't we all different here?'.

"Well, I guess you can say he's _different_ on a whole different level," Kurama merely states, a secretive smile playing on his lips. Damn him for playing coy again.

"Okay, fine," I retort, giving up as I roll my eyes. This doesn't go unnoticed by Kurama who lets out a laugh, causing me to blush in embarrassment... for some reason. The blush disappears soon after though, as a thought occurs through my head.

"Hiei seems kinda familiar though..." I mutter under my breath, as I realize he _does_ look like someone I know.

"That's because he's Yukina's twin brother," Kurama states a matter of factly, after he's done laughing at me.

I take a few longer moments than usual to register the new information. Hiei... Yukina... twin brother... My eyes widen in shock and disbelieve, and I exclaim, "Are you serious?" in surprise.

He nods his head, giving me a smile. "Hard to believe, huh?"

I nod my head also in agreement. "Very." And after a pause, I continue, albeit hesitantly, "I mean, they're just so different from each other... Yukina's really sweet and polite and very likeable and Hiei..." I trail off, not wanting to even begin on my rant about his lack of manners.

Kurama seems to catch on what I want to say nonetheless though, and another laugh leaves his throat. "He's really not as bad as you think he is," he replies all too knowingly.

"Really?"

"Yeah," Kurama starts, "Besides, he and Yukina have more in common than you might think."

Both my blue eyebrows shoot up in surprise and curiosity as I hear this. "What do you mean?" I ask, the curiosity getting the better of me... as usual.

He smiles that coy smile again, and doesn't utter another word out of his mouth.

"Secretive," I tease, playfully rolling my eyes at him, feigning annoyance.

"Well, 'secretive' _is_ my middle name," Kurama shoots back, a smirk finding its way to his lips.

I let out a fake laugh. "Haha, funny, Minamino," I sarcastically reply, giving him a playful punch at the shoulder.

He laughs again, the pleasant sound making me smile.

* * *

"You know, we didn't get to find much at Lost and Found..."

"It's okay. You can borrow the girls' clothes for the time being," Kurama offers, sending me a warm smile.

A frown finds its way to my face. "Are you sure? I don't want to be a nuisance..."

"Well, what do you suggest?" he arches an eyebrow, his smile widening ever so slightly, "You want to keep wearing school uniforms?"

A blush of embarrassment appears on my face, and I clear my throat to get over the uneasiness; though the red color doesn't fade. "Right."

Kurama lets out a laugh; I think he likes to do that when I blush. "You're cute, Botan," he suddenly says after his laugh subsides. There's something in his eyes as he fixes his gaze on my face, emerald meeting amethyst as the corners of his mouth curls upwards into another smile.

My blush deepens, and I try not to stutter as I quickly deny, "N-no, I'm not!"

Damn, I stuttered.

What's wrong with me?

Things can't get even more embarrassing.

This time, Kurama bursts into a louder fit of laugter, and impossibly, the red shade on my cheeks turns darker.

Okay, maybe it can.

Kurama turns to look ahead; probably to focus on the hallway as we walk, all the while still laughing at me – albeit, it sounds a little lower in volume than it did before. But, suddenly his laughter disappears into thin air, and his face turns serious.

I blink at the sudden change, and whip my head to follow his gaze.

There, standing at the hallway with her hands on either side of her hips, and a face like thunder, is a woman with blonde hair. Her bright blue eyes seem dangerous as she fixes a heated stare on both of us.

My eyebrows furrow, wondering why the lady in front of us is looking so scary... and pissed off.

"Who is that?" I whisper to Kurama.

"She's... Mio-sensei," he whispers back, but for some reason, the name passes his lips in an almost cautious way.

My frown deepens considerably as I rack my brain to remember where I heard that name from. Mio-sensei... Mio-sensei... Mio—

I widen my eyes as a look of realization dawns on my features. Shit, it's that teacher... the one Keiko said goes overboad with the punishments she does on students. Uh-oh, I can sense trouble. Now I get why Kurama's so quiet all of a sudden.

" _Where_ were you?" Mio-sensei asks with a harsh tone, holding a wooden rod tightly in her fist. "I was late to class because I had some business to take care of... and I found that you two weren't in there. So where did you go? Just because I wasn't in class, you people..." She shakes her head, glaring at Kurama before fixing it on me. "And _you_. You're a new student, right?" She narrows her eyes, a snide smirk crossing her face as she goes on, "You must have nerves of steel. Challenging me when you're still new..."

I stay silent, and so does Kurama. Neither of us says anything, but I'm thinking of ways to get out of this situation and I'm sure he is too. After a few moments, no one still hasn't made an explanation. The longer we remain quiet, the more Mio-sensei's glare intensifies.

... She sounds and _looks_ really angry. What do I do?

I gulp, sparing a brief glance at the redhead beside me. If Kurama gets punished because of me...

I take a deep breath, before exhaling it... Okay, here goes. I need to be the one who gets punished. I mean, Kurama can't be the one who has to be the victim. I can't let that happen, so I have to take responsibility. It was my fault to begin with anyway.

I open my mouth to answer,

Only to get cut off by Kurama himself.

"It's entirely my fault, sensei," he says, his voice calm, as if he's stating a fact. My eyes widen and I part my lips to stop him, but he grabs my hand before I manage to utter a word. He squeezes lightly, silently telling me to not say anything and to let him take care of it.

But... I can't...

I open my mouth again, only to close it... almost as if I lost my will to speak. I don't know why, but I can't even get a word out of my mouth. Maybe it was Kurama's resolve to handle this, but still... My eyes tear up, but I manage to wipe away the tears that almost escaped, rubbing almost harshly.

This _isn't_ fair.

 _Why can't I say something?_

"Oh?" Mio-sensei raises an eyebrow in half question and half surprise. "And why is that?"

"I was bored in class, so I went to borrow some books from Lost and Found... but the teacher in charge, Kumiko-sensei wasn't there, and I couldn't find anything. But to put it simply, Botan didn't do anything wrong... I dragged her along because I needed some company."

Stop.

"That doesn't sound like you, Minamino."

"I'm sorry."

Why are you apologizing? I should be the one who—

"Well, if you insist that this isn't even at least _partly_ her fault, then what do you think caused her to agree?"

You don't understand. It _is_ my fault.

"I threatened her; she didn't have any choice."

What are you saying?

"Like I said, that _doesn't_ sound like you, Minamino."

Don't believe him.

"But it is, sensei. With all due respect, you don't know me much."

Silence.

"Then what got you to confess?"

"Because I feel bad, because I realized I shouldn't have done that."

That's not true. You're not like that, Kurama. You're nice, and so sweet... So kind...

Why are you doing this?

"Alright then, if you say so." Mio-sensei raises her wooden rod in the air, and beckons Kurama to come closer. He does as he's told, walks up to her and extend his right hand out. "Because you don't usually cause problems and because you admitted that it's your responsibility... I'm going to give you one hit only. You're supposed to get three, but I'll let you off with something not as serious."

Then, lightning starts to surround the wooden rod, moving and circling around it like a vice. I feel tears trailing down my cheeks as the wooden rod is raised up high in the air... before coming down in one swift motion. The sound of wood hitting skin is so loud that I almost jump, and I see Kurama flinch at the pain, but he remains calm as ever... As always.

And before I know it, the tears start to fall down faster, almost uncontrollably, down my face.

I hadn't even realized I was crying.

"Thank you for confessing to your mistake," Mio-sensei tells him curtly, before lowering her wooden rod. She spares me a brief glance, but doesn't acknowledge me even as I'm certain she can see me crying. Disappointment fills me as I realize, I'd been _hoping_ for her to see... for her to realize what's really going on; and that it's actually my fault... but she doesn't.

She doesn't even look back as she starts to walk away.

A moment of silence passes between us, Kurama watching Mio-sensei's retreating back, as if making sure she's fully gone, and me? I have my head downwards, my bangs covering my eyes... as if that shows exactly how horrible I feel.

"She's gone," Kurama tells me, his voice light as if he hadn't done something... something so stupid. A laugh erupts from his throat, and I don't think I hate hearing it now more than ever, "I didn't think that getting your hand electrocuted would hurt _that_ much... but oh well, she brought the rod down so fast, the pain was brief so it wasn't that unplea... sant..." Kurama's voice trails off as he turns around.

He stares at me dumbfoundedly as I start to cry more openly, my sobs echoing through the empty hallways as I clutch my hands into fists. Time seems to stop, as he just stands there, those emerald orbs as wide as saucers, watching me cry. Through all the tears, I can almost see Kurama parting and closing his mouth like a small fish, and I think that's the first time he actually looks so _clueless_ , as if he wants to say something to comfort me... but he can't, and he doesn't know how.

Things were like that for what seems like a long time... until I hear Kurama starts walking, his footsteps drawing near towards me. I raise my head to look at him, but I don't manage as he suddenly pulls me into a hug.

My sobs come to a halt, too surprised by his actions to cry anymore. His hold tightens, one hand now gripping my head gently and the other wrapped around my waist almost protectively as he starts whispering 'It's okay, it's okay' into my ears, comforting me.

Almost as immediately as it stopped, the sobs come again, this time louder as tears continue to trail down my cheeks. I grip his shirt in my small hands, and cry into his chest; I know this is selfish. Kurama just took responsibility for me, and _now_ he's comforting me, even though _I_ should be the one comforting _him_.

And yet, Kurama never lets go.

* * *

After the whole incident, me and Kurama asked for the headroom teacher's permission to go back to doors, making up an excuse that I was sick and that Kurama needed to take care of me. She granted it, of course, and we went back to our room. I didn't know what to say to him... or more like, I couldn't say anything to him at all. I feel miserable, I feel... awful. Just really, really awful like I'm an ungrateful and very bad person. And maybe I am, maybe. Kurama's been so nice to me... He's gone to accompany me twice already, once yesterday to the warden's, Genkai's office and today, to Lost and Found... He's even taken responsibility for my actions when it wasn't his fault. _I_ was the one who dragged _him_. Not the other way around.

And yet, I couldn't do anything for him. I could've told Mio-sensei the truth, but I didn't. I don't know why; maybe I was scared, maybe I was too shocked by Kurama's actions to even speak... maybe both.

It's _not_ fair.

So now, I sit here on the bed, with the sheets covering almost all of my body. There're girls' clothes laid beside me, some belonging to Keiko and others to Yukina and Shizuru. Kurama went and asked for their help, and after excusing themselves (with the made up excuse of going to the toilet) out the classroom, they went back to fetch their clothes at the girls' dorms. They questioned a lot about what's going on, and I could tell they're worried, but I didn't have the energy to speak. And Kurama didn't tell them anything either.

I hear the sound of a door sliding open, and despite knowing it's Kurama exiting the bathroom (he went to take a bath after we got back to dorms), I don't bother to look up. Although I hear his footsteps drawing closer to where I am, I still don't lift my head, eyes looking downwards at the floor.

"How are you?" Kurama's soft voice reaches my ears, and I see drops of water dripping down the carpet, making the light blue color turn darker. I could guess they're drops of water trickling down Kurama's body, after his bath. And even though situations like these would've made me red in embarrassment, I really...

All of a sudden, tears start trickling down my cheeks again, and I almost curse at myself for being so weak in front of him. He's probably having a more difficult time than I am, and yet here I am, being a wimp. Again.

"Really," A hand touches the top of my head, ruffling my hair gently, "It's okay," he says reassuringly, his hand trailing downwards to my face, wiping away the tears.

"No, it's not," I stubbornly disagree, sobs escaping me between the words that pass my lips.

Everything is quiet in the room now. All I can hear is the sound of the fan spinning, and the soft thudding sound of the wet drops of water trickling down from Kurama's red hair and to the floor.

"It is," Kurama tells me again, after a long moment of silence. He keeps wiping away the tears from my face, even as they keep falling.

"But why..." I trail off, unable to will myself to continue.

"Because I care about you," his answer comes almost immediate, his voice so firm yet gentle that I almost gasp, surprised by how serious he is. "I don't want to see you get hurt."

"But it's _not_ your fault," I nearly cry out, lifting my gaze finally to look at him in the eye sternly.

"It doesn't matter," Kurama states, brushing a strand of my blue hair that had almost entered my eye, before pulling his hand away, "All that matters is that I want you to stop blaming yourself for it; plus, it didn't even hurt as much as I thought it would, so I wasn't in so much pain... I'm fine, Botan, I really am."

"Your hand was _electrocuted_ ," I emphasize the last word, to make him realize just how much _that_ matters.

"And aren't we glad that it wasn't my whole body?" Kurama playfully respond, a laugh erupting from his throat at the glare I send him. Really, the nerve of him to joke around about something so serious.

"It's _not_ funny, Kurama."

"I know," He gives me a warm and apologetic smile, and continues to say, "It really doesn't matter to me, Botan, so it doesn't have to matter to you either."

"But—but... what about your reputation?"

"Now _that_ ,my dear, is the least of my concerns, therefore, it shouldn't be one of yours," he utters out.

Blood immediately rushes to my face at the sweet nickname. 'My dear'... What-? Why am I feeling so happy all of a sudden? I inwardly shake my head in deniance.

... But why did he call me that?

Okay, stop, Botan.

It doesn't matter!

Does it?

... Well, at least I feel a bit better now.

"Now that's more like you," he laughingly says, referring to the deep red color on my cheeks. My blush deepens, and his laughter grows louder... not that I mind, as long as I could hear him laugh. For some reason, the sound always manage to calm me down... and it always make me feel somewhat giddy.

"Like I said, NOT funny," I give a sarcastic reply, though the expression on my face betrays me, the obvious grin making it hard to believe I'm actually being sardonic.

"Sorry again," he half-heartedly apologizes, a smirk now evident on his charming features... Okay, forget what I said about charming.

"But, Kurama... I just wanna know... Why do you care so much about me? Why would you go through so much trouble just for me?" I inquire, all playfulness aside, my serious mode turned 'on'. I stare at him in those piercing emeralds, trying to search for an example. Though I find nothing, as if he's trying to block me from figuring it out.

The smirk falls from his face... only to be replaced as the corners of his mouth pull upwards into a coy smile.

"That's because I like you, Botan," he suddenly says, his voice oddly low and husky as he tells me this.

I arch one curious eyebrow at him, blinking at him in confusion. "You like me? As in, like a friend?" I question in wonder; and I ponder for a moment if Kurama does this sort of thing for all of his friends... if that's true, then he must be really nice.

 **Too** nice.

For some reason, Kurama starts to burst into a howl of laughter, causing my eyebrows to crease in further bewilderment. Why is he laughing?

A few moments pass, and after a while, his fit of laughter finally subsides, fading into thin air and silence once more fills the room. He fixes his gaze on my face, meeting eyes with me, and I see mirth... and something else (?) dancing in those deep jewel-like greens.

He doesn't acknowledge me with an answer though, and instead, proceeds to pat my head. "You should take a bath, and get dressed," he changes the topic, and the frown on my forehead deepens, "We're going out. That'll make you feel better."

I part my lips to ask him why he's avoiding the subject... but close it again, inwardly heaving a sigh and I decide to play along. For now.

"Okay." Then, a thought occures through my head, and I look up at him with wide eyes, "But it's that okay? I mean, we're still at school... and classes aren't over yet. What if Mio-sensei sees us?" I ask him, afraid of the thought of being caught by the blonde-haired teacher.

He shakes his head, as if saying it'll be alright. "We'll sneak out... You have to trust me, I'm pretty good at it," he says, a proud smirk finding its way to his face.

I blink for a few times, wondering if that's true... But Kurama did tell me to trust him, so I should. I heave a sigh, and after a moment of thinking it through, I finally agree to the 'invitation'.

"Alright then." I smile, "I trust you."

Kurama nods his head once, before pointing a thumb towards the door. "I'm going out for a while – you don't have to worry about the teachers seeing me, I'm only gonna be around this area," he reassures me, when he sees the concerned expression on my features. "In the meantime, you should go and shower."

"But, where are you going?" I quickly inquire, as he starts walking for the door.

His footsteps come to a halt, and he whips his head around to give me a small smile. "You don't have to concern yourself over something little like that," he tells me, even though I personally don't think it's 'something little'. "Or would you rather I stay here while you take a bath?" he asks teasingly, raising one red eyebrow in question.

I blush beet red at his words. "What? No!" I cry out indignantly, and immediately stand up from the bed to push him out of the room, the laugh that escapes him causing my blush to deepen considerably. "Y-you go ahead and do what it is you need to do and I... Well, I'll stay here!"

All this I say as I shove him out the door, but even after all that, the smile on his face never goes away, staying glued to his features like... Well, glue.

"I-I'll see you later," I mumble shyly, and after the nod he gives me (that smile widening ever so slightly), I close the door.

I stare at the wooden material for long moments, trying to calm myself down, and yet, the red color on my cheeks never fades away.

* * *

/Kurama's POV/

My eyes start an abnormal staring contest with the door, as I sense Botan's still standing there, in front of the door, at the other side, in the room... where there is a bathroom... where she is going to take a bath... naked... the water trickling down her pearl white, soft skin body...

A blush colors my cheeks at the less than inappropriate thoughts that had somewhat managed to find its way to my mind. The imaginations taking place in my head so vivid, I almost think it's real. And to think I was teasing her a moment ago... and yet, I'm here, face red like a tomato and body quivering.

I shake my head, silently noting that she's... grown on me somehow.

I lean against the door, sliding my hands in my pockets. It wasn't as if I needed to go somewhere, or that I had some business to take care of when I told her I was going out... I needed to cool my head. She was... being too damn cute for her own good.

Crying and glaring at me like that... Sobbing like a small child... The sound of her voice as she tries to speak between hiccups... And those tears trailing down those soft, pink cheeks... Those beautiful pair of amethyst staring at mine, causing my legs to tremble...

Shaking my head furiously, I try to get rid of those thoughts. Although the harder I try to drive them away, the more vivid they start to become.

I could've kissed and taken her right there and then.

I wanted to.

I almost would've if I didn't have control over myself.

... I think I'm starting to sound more like my alter ego.

I expel a heavy sigh, and that's when I realize there's another presence in the hallway. I narrow my eyes dangerously, and let out a low growl that sounds throughout the long hallway.

"Whoever's there, you'd better show yourself or you'll regret it," I warn with a menacing edge in my voice. I don't really appreciate people spying on me, thank you.

A moment of silence, and still nobody shows up. I push myself from the door, and reach inside my hair, getting ready to launch my rose whip in case the person decides to attack. It never hurts to be cautious.

After a while, a figure finally walks out from a tall vase at the end of the hallway and after realizing who it is, I pull my hand out of my hair, heaving a sigh, as the familiar presence causes me to drop my guard.

"Hiei," I greet as he starts to saunter his way towards me. "I should've figured it's you."

"Well, you didn't," he scoffs, and rolls his eyes.

I shake my head, and proceed to lean my back against the door again. From the other side of the door, I can hear sounds of shuffling, as if Botan's putting on her clothes. Driving away the thoughts of a shirt sliding down her smooth stomach, I calmly ask, despite the jumbled mess that is my mind. "Why are you here?" No doubt he's skipping classes again, typical Hiei. "It's rare for you to visit me."

"... Well, I heard from that doofus, Kuwa-baka, that you and Miss Blue Haired Damsel in Distress were apparently feeling 'under the weather', and that you were here."

A pause. "I didn't think you guys were sharing the same room," Hiei says – or is it taunt? – as a smirk crosses his face, a hint of amusement touching his crimson eyes.

"There were a few circumstances," I quickly respond, earning a 'hmm' in return.

"So," Hiei pauses, and gives me an unreadable expression. "What made you decide to take responsibility and get your hand electrocuted by that Mio bitch for that Botan anyway?" he suddenly asks, taking me by surprise.

I widen my eyes. "You knew?" I inquire instead of answering, ignoring how he called Mio-sensei a 'bitch', knowing how much he hates her; what's with him always skipping classes and her being a disciplinary teacher. "Did you see it?" I ask again when he remains silent, but I already assume that's the case.

Hiei doesn't respond, and instead, leans against the wall beside me, sliding his hands in his black pants also as he parts his mouth and starts to speak, "I didn't know you cared that much for the girl that you were willing to get punished in her place. Now, Kurama, the ever so prideful Kurama who practically doesn't sacrifice himself for someone else, _why_ would you do such a thing?"

"... You're talking too much, that's a first time."

"Shut up and answer the goddamn question, Minamino," Hiei hisses, and I raise my arms in defeat, letting out a small sigh as I relent. I realize that now's not the great time to not let Hiei get what he wants.

Sliding my hands inside my pockets again, I shrug my shoulders, trying to appear nonchalant as I say, "I don't really know myself. I mean, I only wanted to get to know her because I thought she was interesting."

" _Interesting_?" Hiei questions, arching an eyebrow at me. The way he says the word, almost mocking, and almost as if he's about to laugh, makes it difficult to believe he understands why I would take interest in Botan. "In what way is a girl like that interesting?"

"I really don't know, Hiei. I... I guess there's just something that drawns me to her, something about her that attracts my attention the first time I laid my eyes on her."

Hiei remains silent for a while; perhaps to comprehend the new information, until... "And?" he asks, prodding me to continue as he raises an eyebrow in question.

"And what started as simple curiosity quickly grew into something so much more... and now I find myself constantly staring at her, constantly being by her side... and the weird thing is, I actually _want_ to, not because I have an agenda, or I'm toying with her, but... I just do. That's just how I feel." I subconsciously smile, the memories of the time I spent with Botan flooding my head, "Being with her makes me somewhat happy," I say before I could stop myself.

"So what you're saying is you love her?" Hiei inquires, eyes staring into mine, his face serious as he looks back at the now taken aback expression on my features.

"No," I swiftly deny in a dry voice, "I don't think it's something that big of a deal; I don't think I love her, I think I just... like her," I tell him, even though I, myself am not entirely sure about that. A part of me argues that it's not true, that I am _falling in love_ with her, but I stubbornly fight back.

"Same difference," Hiei responds with a snort.

He then proceeds to push himself from the wall, and without so much of a word, starts to saunter away. I realize that he's leaving and a thought passes my mind, "Whatever happened about you wanting me to hack into Kuwabara's computer?" I ask, remembering a while ago he told me he wanted my help; I can sense that Kuwabara's done something again, and that it has something to do with Yukina (it always does).

He stops his tracks, turning around to send me a glare, before saying, "Now that is something we'll discuss sometime later. I wouldn't wanna disturb your _date_ ," Hiei smirks as he lets the last word escape his lips in emphasis.

"Funny, Hiei," I tartly reply, rolling my eyes. Although I outwardly look annoyed, I can't deny that I feel inwardly... oddly happy at hearing the word 'date'.

"Aren't you going to tell her?" Hiei asks, all teasing aside and expression half interested and half... poker faced, as usual. Buy before I manage to get a word out of my lips to answer, he vanishes into thin air, leaving in a blur of black. He's gone; probably because he got what he came here for: to find out how much Botan matters to me.

And I realize then that she matters too much, probably even more so than anyone else does.

A low and inaudible mumble escapes my lips, almost out of characteristic of me,

"It's not something I can easily say."


End file.
